


Bunny's Home for Wayward Skeletons

by BunnyBrea



Series: Bitty and the Skeletons [4]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Bitty OC - Freeform, Female bitty, Human bitty - Freeform, Platonic friendships, Skeletons, The multiverse, Third of the trilogy, new universes, we're back!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-21
Updated: 2021-01-21
Packaged: 2021-03-13 09:33:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 31,136
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28901199
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BunnyBrea/pseuds/BunnyBrea
Summary: This is the third and final installment of the Bitty and the Skeletons trilogy.Bunny is ready for vacation, but before she can settle in to enjoy some time off Ink appears, asking for her help.Error went on a rampage, destroying several AUs and leaving a handful of survivors homeless. Ink has put them in a safe place, but needs Bunny's help to look after them while he hunts down Error. Bunny agrees and is sent into a new dimension to befriend brand new skeletons.This story is inspired by 'Eternal Starvation' by mallanmissan. Check out the comic on Deviantart!
Series: Bitty and the Skeletons [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1449541
Comments: 13
Kudos: 19





	1. Summer Vacation

It was summer vacation when I woke up, and I smiled serenely, nestled in my blankets, comforted by the fact that I could just sleep in. No classes, no work. A rarity.

On the floor below I could hear my boisterous roommate, the Great Papyrus, cooking breakfast. No sleeping in for that guy. I rolled over and pushed my face deeper into my pillow. Summer vacation and two weeks off. Vacation was finally-

_Thump_.

The bed rattled as something hit it. I immediately shot up, hair wild and eyes wide.

A new but familiar skeleton sat on the foot of my bed. His bare bone toes curled into the blankets as he leaned forward on his haunches, knees bent. His long scarf ran to the floor, and a giant paintbrush rested on his back. His multi-colored eyelights narrowed at me, and I stared back in shock.

“I-Ink?”

He was wearing a different outfit from when I last saw him, but it was definitely Ink, the skeleton that saved me from Error almost a year ago. We had only met briefly, and I hadn’t seen him since he dropped me into a portal and back into my world.

“Oh! So, you do know me! Are you Bunny? You’re supposed to be a bitty . . .” He picked up his scarf and read the scribbles printed there.

“Yeah, it’s me, Bunny,” I said, “Sans brought me back to my human size.”

“Oh, good! That’ll make things easier!” Ink hopped off the bed and gave his paintbrush a twirl. The brush hit the floor with a ‘splat’ creating a puddle of pink paint.

“What things? Why are you here?” I pushed my blankets aside and move my legs over the side of the bed. I was only wearing a nightgown but wasn’t too worried about indecency.

“To take you away!” Ink grabbed my arm and pulled me toward the paint puddle.

No, no, no, not again!

“Papyrus!” I screamed and struggled as I was pulled off the bed. With a frown Ink wrapped his arm around my waist, lifting me up onto his shoulder. “Saaans!”

I heard the heavy thump of footsteps on the stairs, but Sans got there first, appearing with a blink into my room. Then G was there, one of his eyes glowing a dangerous gold.

“Hey pal, you wanna drop the human?”

“Oh, hey there!” Ink said cheerfully.

The door burst open and all six and a half feet of Papyrus came barreling in, still wearing his ‘ ~~Kiss~~ Hug the Chef’ apron. He spotted my distress and pointed a finger at my captor.

“You’re blue now!”

Ink turned to Papyrus and smiled, but there was no familiar ‘ding’ from Papyrus’s blue attack, and he didn’t go down. Papyrus frowned with befuddlement.

“W-why . . .?”

“Grab Bunny, Paps,” G said.

Papyrus did so, turning my soul blue instead, and yanking me off Ink’s shoulder. I flew through the air and landed in Papyrus’s arms, where he held me securely.

Sans teleported between us and Ink, and G stayed at his back, posed to attack. Ink sighed as if he were a kid who had to do his homework instead of video games. “Come on! I just need to borrow a reader and no one else will let me!”

“Everything you just said is nonsense,” G said.

Ink groaned. “I’ve already had to explain this stuff.” He sighed again and whipped his paintbrush through the air. It was like watching someone paint on a VR headset - a bean bag chair appeared in thin air with a few strokes, then became real and landed on the floor. Ink sat down on it. G took a step back, bone brows shooting up in shock.

“How did you . . . ?” I had no idea what Ink was capable of, or even who he really was.

“You remember how Error wanted to destroy things?” Ink asked me. “I protect things . . . and create things, kind of. That’s why I’m here.”

I went stiff and put my arms around Papyrus’s neck. “Error?” I whispered, unable to keep the terror from lacing my voice. Papyrus held me tighter and Sans grunted.

“Error’s back?”

“Kind of, he’s gone missing, but he’s left a lot of damage,” Ink said, “damage I’m _hoping_ Bunny will help me with?” His eyes changed shapes, one becoming a heart, the other a question mark.

“No, no way, Error almost killed me-!”

“Error won’t be there!” Ink said quickly, waving his hands. “Like I said, he disappeared. I’m trying to find him, and while I do that, I need someone to help watch over the skeletons!”

“What skeletons?” Papyrus asked.

“The ones who universes were destroyed by Error,” Ink said darkly.

Papyrus, Sans, G, and I exchanged looks, all of us more than a little bewildered.

“Okay,” I spoke up first and patted Papyrus’s shoulder, signaling him to put me down. He did so and I took a breath. “I think we need to start from the beginning. Why don’t you guys go downstairs and make some tea, I’ll freshen up and you tell us what’s going on.”

“Ug, fine.” Ink stood up and kicked the bean bag chair. It turned into a puddle of paint, then disappeared. G jumped in surprise. “But don’t forget, bitty, you owe me one!”

Papyrus lead the way, showing Ink down the stairs. Sans started to follow then paused in the doorway. G knelt down, searching the floor for the disappearing paint.

“This that guy you told us about that sent you home?” Sans asked. He touched my cheek with his boney fingertips, as if checking for injuries.

“Yeah, he can travel through AUs.” I shuddered and hugged myself, feeling borderline triggered by the memory of my last romp through the multiverse.

“We can send him away, Bunny, really, you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to,” G said stepping up behind me. He put his hands on my shoulders and squeezed reassuringly.

“Thanks, but he did save my life. I at least owe him a chance to talk.”

“Alright, we’ll be downstairs then. Take your time.”

I did so, getting dressed and combing my hair, mostly just trying to stay calm. What did Ink want with me? How could Error be destroying AUs?

Did he hurt one of my friends?

I had a schedule for calling my separate AU skeletons, and none of them had reported trouble. The latest had been Rus and Razz who I had talked to a week ago. They were doing fine on the surface with Razz receiving a promotion in the Monster Guard, and Rus opening an online store to sell his wooden figures.

Before that I had talked to Blue and Stretch who were fine but still underground. My heart ached for them, but they seemed happy. Blue loved telling me about the new traps and puzzles he had created, and Stretched just liked making puns. They often reported weird glitchy things in their universe, but nothing worth worrying about. Were they alright?

Red and Edge were still running their mob on the surface, and they loved to brag to me about the butts they kicked, the cops they bribed, and the amazing lawyers they were able to hire. I still found it all a bit uncouth, but unfortunately necessary.

Axe and Sugar were leading a quiet life in their monster village away from humans. They reported a good harvest, some money coming in from the farmer’s market, and good health as they kept up scheduled appointments with the doctor.

The last time I saw them, Axe had a plate in his head that perfectly fit the hole in his skull, and Sugar was about to get his braces off. He was also sporting a new, adorable pair of glasses (he had a collection of cool, colorful frames).

I brushed my teeth and ran downstairs, now too worked up to wait any longer. The four skeletons were sitting at the table talking and drinking. They went silent and looked up as I entered.

“Bunny!” Papyrus waved me over. “Ink here is a Sans, but he doesn’t have a soul and that’s why my blue attack didn’t work, isn’t that strange?”

“How . . . do you not have a soul?” I asked, horrified. G seemed intrigued.

“Long story,” Ink said, “I’ve got a different one for you. So, Error destroying AUs, lots of survivors with no home and no place to go. I’ve created a pocket universe to keep them safe, but they’re not doing so well. They need a rea- a human like you to help them out! You’ve had experience helping skeletons before, so this should be easy!”

“But, why a human?” I asked sitting down, “they’re adults, aren’t they?”

“You have a bitty soul! You can heal them from their trauma.”

“I’m not a bitty anymore.”

“Either way, you can help,” Ink insisted, “human souls are unique to monsters, and a patient soul like yours is just what they need.”

I looked at the others, unsure what to say.

“How long would this babysitting gig be?” Sans queried.

“Could one of us come with her?” Papyrus asked.

“Seriously, how do you not have a soul?” G stared at Ink’s chest.

“I don’t know, yes, and mind your business, Mr. scientist.”

“I don’t know . . .” I murmured, “I mean, of course I want to help, it’s terrible that they lost their homes, but I almost died the last time, and I feel like things were just starting to get back to normal.”

“You’ll be in one place, it’s safe and protected, and you can come back whenever you need.”

“I can?”

“Yep, I’ll give you a vial of portal paint so that you can come back to this universe at any time.”

“Well that’s a relief!” Papyrus said.

“That does make it better,” I admitted.

“Why don’t you come meet everyone?” Ink suggested, “then you can decide for sure.”

“Only if we come too,” Sans said, “and you give her the portal paint in advance.”

“What, you don’t trust me?”

“No.”

Ink rolled his eyes – which had turned into a triangle and a spiral. “Fine, fine, but only one of you can come, there are enough Sanses and Papyri running around already.”

“I’ll go,” G offered, “I’m curious to see this place.”

With a whip of his giant paintbrush, Ink created a pink portal and grabbed our arms. Before we could register what was happening, Ink jumped in, tipping us forward so that we fell into the paint after him.

I screamed, expecting to fall and hit the ground, but I actually felt myself going _up_ and when I opened my eyes I found that we were outside, lying in the grass. G was next to me, eyelights wide. Ink stood upright at our shoulders, hands on his hips, smug smile on his face.

“Come on! Stand up! I want you to meet them!” Ink waved his hand excitedly.

“Give us a minute!” G snapped. He gently took my arm and we stood up together. “You okay?”

“Yeah, I think so, just forgot how jarring world jumping is,” I said. My legs shook a little as I got my bearings. G kept a firm arm around my shoulders.

We were standing in a sunny yard with trees and flowers. Before us was a charming Victorian house, standing tall and wide, full of bay windows, balconies, a pointed roof, and colorful trims.

Ink was on the stairs that led to the wrap-around porch. “Come on!”

“What is this place?” I asked as we walked forward.

“This is a B&B I created to house everyone,” Ink said, “cute, right?”

“It really is,” I agreed. The house was gorgeous. Ink opened the door and ushered us inside. The interior was just as lovely as the exterior, with colorful walls and stenciling, crown molding, and bohemian-style rugs. The furniture wasn’t antique in style like I expected, more like something you would find at Ikea.

“You said this was a pocket dimension, how does that work? Did you actually create this universe? How is it –”

“This is about getting the human to stay, I’ll answer your questions later!” Ink said, waving G off. My friend huffed but went silent. I gave him a sympathetic smile.

“So it’s nice right?” Ink looked at me, “you’d have your own bedroom and bathroom, and you can decorate it however you want.”

“I might be tempted if it comes with one of those balconies I saw.”

Ink beamed. “Let’s head into the kitchen, there’s usually always _someone_ in the kitchen.”

Ink was right. Down the hall and to the right we entered a large kitchen that would be the envy of Gordon Ramsey, and inside were two skeletons.

One seemed like my Sans, but he wore long sweats and sneakers instead of his trademark pink slippers, and had his hood up. The other was a Papyrus, dressed in blue and gold armor with a cape that shimmered with stars.

Ink sighed with relief and stepped inside. The others looked up in surprise.

“A human!” The Papyrus cried, pointing at me. I jumped and G squeezed tighter.

“Yep, I’ve brought a human,” Ink said proudly, “she’s going to help watch over you guys!”

“I haven’t agreed to–”

“You’re going to love her, her name is . . . uh . . .”

“Bunny,” I said pointedly.

“Right, Bunny! And these guys are . . . um . . .”

The Sans stepped forward, giving me a casual wink. “Ink doesn’t have the best memory. My nickname is Tango, this is Comet.”

“The Spectacular Comet!” the Papyrus said, jumping forward. He seized my hand and gave it an energetic shake. “I’m so excited to welcome you to our temporary home! I’ve been so looking forward to having someone in charge because no one wants to listen to anybody else, but Ink said that they would listen to a human and make everyone feel better because human souls are special and that’s true because we needed a bunch to get off our planet, so I just know having you here will help things so much!”

“ . . . Planet?” was the only thing I really grasped.

“Comet here is technically an alien,” Tango said with a playful grin.

“Yes, I come from a different planet, but don’t worry! As you can see I’m not green, do not have tentacles, and will not ‘probe’ you!”

“Oh, good.” A universe on a whole other planet, how did that work?

“And what about you?” G asked Tango.

“From what I can tell, the thing that makes my universe unique is dancing,” Tango said.

“How so?” I asked.

“It’s what we do instead of attacks, we dance.”

“Aw, that’s adorable,” I said, pleased at the idea of a world with no fighting.

“See?” Ink said, “everyone’s really nice here!”

“Uh . . .” both Tango and Comet frowned, but Ink took me around the shoulders and pulled me away, heading toward another door that led back outside to the backyard. This was just as lovely as the front, with a swing on the porch, shade trees, and lots of flowers.

“Bunny, I really need someone on this,” Ink said in a surprisingly serious tone, “these skeletons have been through a lot and they need help from someone like you. You know about the multiverse, you’ve helped skeletons before. These guys _need_ you. Please?”

My heart strings twanged and I groaned. “You really know how to play on my guilt, you know that?”

Ink grinned. “So you’ll do it?”

“I’ll . . . I’ll do it on a temporary basis,” I said, “we’ll see how things go, and if it gets too much I want to go home.”

“Deal!”

“And I get some portal paint.”

“Some what?”

“The portal paint? So I can go home?”

“Oooh, yeah,” Ink snapped his fingers. He took a vial from around his sash and handed it to me. “Instant portal paint, just pour and jump in!”

“Thank you.” I took the vial of pink paint and put it safely in my pocket, feeling secure in the fact that I had a way out.

“No, thank you!” Ink said, “this is such a big help, now I can concentrate on finding Error and getting these AUs up and running again.”

“Good luck, I hope we can get everyone home,” I said.

Ink nodded. “Alright, I’m going to leave you to it, the others can show you around and introduce you!”

“W-wait!” I shot my hand out before he could wave his magic brush again. “What about G?”

“Who?”

“The skeleton who came with me, G, you need to take him home.”

“Oh, okay,” Ink ran back into the kitchen, and I found myself standing by myself in the garden. This was all happening so fast. I needed to go home to get clothes and Cucumber. Shaking my head, I started to turn and go to the kitchen to catch Ink, but before I could the air opened up in front of me and Ink’s head, hanging upside down, appeared out of thin air.

“Ah–!”

“Almost forgot! You need to be a bitty to help everyone heal!”

Before I could say anything, Ink’s paintbrush swung around and made contact with my face. I felt myself fall, then everything went black.


	2. Here We Go Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Big Blue is from UnderSwap COLOR by WishingStarinaJar. I tried to be true to the character. Please check out Wishingstar's work here on AO3.

I opened my eyes and found myself lying in the grass.

Very tall grass.

I wailed as it all came back to me. I sat up and found my clothes now giant and lying in a wrinkled pile around me. The pink vile was a few inches away.

“Oh god oh god . . . G! G, help me!” I cried out, trying to look around. How could Ink do this?! Just shrink me and leave me outside?! Big tears welled up as I started to cry.

“Hello?” A voice called out.

I grabbed the collar of my shirt and wrapped it around my nude body, looking around in a panic for the source of the voice. I heard footsteps on the dirt as they approached and a shadow fell over me.

Oh boy. They were huge.

Cyan eyelights blinked down at me in confusion. In the face the skeleton kind of looked like Blue, but he was a big guy, with thick bones and a large belly under a turtleneck sweater, a pair of cargo shorts, and a hiking vest. He bent down to get a better look at me.

“What the–? Where did you come from?”

“I-Ink brought me here,” I whimpered.

“Oooh, you poor thing. Come here.” The skeleton held out his hands, cupping them together. They were the biggest hands I had sat in, covered in soft gray gloves. I crawled into them, settling into his palms with the shirt still wrapped around me. The skeleton lifted me up and cupped me to his chest. He grabbed my clothes and vial as well.

“Wow, I’ve never seen a tiny human before! Did your AU get destroyed too?”

“No, actually Ink brought me here to watch over everyone.”

“Really? A little thing like you?”

“Hey.” I tried to be mad but was still torn up inside, feeling very alone and scared.

“Oh, I didn’t mean anything by it, it’s just that some of the skeleton’s here . . . well, they’re not the nicest.”

“Ug, great,” I mumbled. Of course Ink would only introduce me to the nice skeletons on the first day.

“It’s okay though! I know that they’re good people deep down, and maybe you can help them! I’m Big Blue by the way.”

“Indeed you are,” I said. “I’m Bunny.”

Big Blue carried me into the kitchen, which was now empty. He set me on the kitchen island.

“I think a nice cup of cocoa will make you feel better,” he said. “In Snowdin, that’s what my brother and I always drank after a long, cold day.”

“Where is your brother?” I asked.

Big Blue went quiet as he pulled out a packet of instant cocoa from the cabinet, and filled a mug with water. He didn’t answer until he put the water in the microwave.

“He didn’t make it,” he said quietly, “I barely remember what happened. We tried to stay together when the universe started falling apart, but we got tossed away, and I found myself in . . . Ink called it the anti-void? My universe, Papy, everyone . . . they were all gone.”

“I’m so sorry . . .”

He turned to me, forcing a big smile. I could see tears in the corners of his eye sockets. “It’s okay! We’re safe here, and Ink’s going to bring our universes back, I’ll see my brother in no time!”

“Big,” I said, watching as he wiped his eyes with his gloves. “Pick me up.”

“Sure?” He lifted me in his large hands.

“Hold me to your chest, where your soul is.”

He did so. I pressed myself to his sweater, sitting on my knees and resting the upper half of my body against his chest. With each breath I rose and fell. It took a moment, but the connection was made, one I hadn’t felt in a long time. Warmth filled me up, and I sighed.

Big gasped. “What . . . what is that?”

“That’s my soul. Bitty souls have healing properties. If you ever find yourself feeling sad or missing your brother, you just hold me close like this and it’ll help.”

“It really does. It’s like cocoa right to my soul,” Big chuckled.

I smiled. That was why Ink needed me so badly. If a Blue was feeling this bad then I could only imagine what the others were going through. They did need me. It looked like I was going to be stuck here, not because of portals, but because of my own morality.

The microwave beeped. Big Blue set me down and mixed the chocolate and hot water together. He frowned for a moment, looking at me, then the cup, as if realizing that the size wasn’t going to work. A lightbulb went off and he fetched a tablespoon from a drawer. This was filled with the warm drink and set in front of me. It was the size of a soup bowl, but it would work. I took a sip.

“Thanks, Big, can’t go wrong with chocolate.”

“You’re welcome! Now we just need to figure out some clothes for you!”

“Anyone here know how to sew?”

“Good idea! I bet there is someone. Why don’t we ask around, then I can introduce you to everyone!”

Before I could agree or disagree, Big Blue swept me up and carried me out of the kitchen. I fell over in his palms and had to grab his thumb in one hand to pull myself upright as he rushed up the stairs, his large feet stomping all the way.

The second floor was lined with doors, all labeled with names. Some were decorated, others just simple scribbles on a piece of paper. The first one said ‘Tango’ and I was glad it was someone I had already met.

“Hey, Big B, what’s up?” Tango asked as he opened the door. His eyes landed on me. “Bunny? What the heck happened to you?”

“Ink happened to me,” I groaned.

“You really drew the _short_ straw, huh, kid?”

Big rolled his eyes. “Not the time, Tango! Bunny needs help! Do you know how to sew?”

“Yeah, actually, I sewed up my brother’s performance costumes all the time.”

“Wonderful! Do you think you could make some clothes for Bunny? We have her shirt and pants here.” Big Blue showed him the garments, and Tango looked them over.

“Yeah, I can work with this. Let’s see if we can whip up something temporary for you. Come inside.”

Big Blue ducked through the door. Tango’s room was spacious, with lots of hardwood floor space and mirrors set up on one wall. On the other side was his bed and a pile of clothes. From under the bed he pulled out a sewing kit and produced a pair of scissors. He grabbed a black shirt from his pile and started to cut.

“Oh, you don’t have to destroy one of your shirts!” I said.

“Don’t care,” he shrugged. He cut out a large circle, then added a head and arm holes. I pulled this over my body, and Tango finished it off with a red silk ribbon. He tied it around my middle like a belt.

“Viola, instant dress.”

“Thank you,” I said.

“No problem. I’ll try and make something more suitable before the end of the day.”

“We’ll stop by later, we still have some people to meet!” Big Blue said.

“Thanks again!” I called as I was swept out of the room. Big Blue considered the doors then made a decision. He went to a door with the word ‘Coffee’ written in marker. He tapped gently, waited a moment, then opened the door.

“Coffee?” He asked tentatively, “there’s someone here to see you.”

I peeked over his fingertips to get a better look. The room seemed very plain, with basic furniture and no real personal things. There was dishes and trash on the floor.

On the bed, hugging his knees was a very gangly Papyrus wearing yellow track pants and a black hoodie. He appeared to have some sort of gold brace on his fangs, and shy eyes.

“There you are!” Big Blue said cheerfully. “Look, Ink has brought a human to live with us, and she’s tiny!” He held me out, and I gave this Papyrus – Coffee – a soft wave.

Coffee blinked in surprise. “Tiny human?” he asked quietly. He was different than any Sans or Papyrus I had met before.

Big Blue entered and approached the bed, holding me out to Coffee. “See? She’s really nice.”

“I’m Bunny,” I said.

“ . . . Really?”

I chuckled. “Yeah, technically it’s short for Dust Bunny.”

“You should hold her, Coffee!” Big Blue said, nudging me forward.

Coffee shook his head quickly. “N-no thanks.”

“Really! It’ll make you feel better!”

“It’s okay, Big,” I said, “we just met, we can talk more when he feels more comfortable.”

“Oh, okay. We’ll see you later then, Coffee!”

The skinny skeleton nodded and pulled out a hand-held gaming device, which I realized he had hidden behind his back when we came in. He ducked behind it, and video game noises filled the room.

“I don’t think I’ve ever met someone so shy,” I said when we left the room.

“Yeah, he doesn’t talk much, I guess whatever happened in his AU scared him pretty bad.”

The next door was covered in glow-in-the-dark stars and the name ‘Comet’ in glitter. “Oh, I met Comet earlier!” I said.

Big Blue knocked, but there was no answer. “Oh, you know what, it’s getting close to dinner time, he might be in the kitchen cooking. That’s okay, there’s one more person you can meet!”

We went up another flight of stairs to the third floor, but didn’t stop there. Big Blue grabbed the handle for an attic door and pulled it down. Up we went into yet another bedroom, this one very cozy with string lights and a pile of blankets in the middle of the room, like a nest. Big Blue went to a set of sliding glass doors that stepped out onto the balcony.

Just who was this guy?

We stepped out into the fresh air, sunshine warming me and the breeze stirring my hair. Big shielded his eyes and searched the horizon before grinning and pointing.

“There he is!”

I squinted, only seeing a bird at first, then realizing it wasn’t a bird at all.

That Sans had wings!

I gasped in shock, standing up fully to get a better look. The Sans had goggles over his eyesockets, a grayish-blue jacket, dark gray scarf, and a pair of beautiful brown wings on his back. He swooped in closer, spotting us, and landed on the balcony railing. I looked down and saw that he had skeleton talons for feet, clutching the wood securely.

My mouth dropped.

“Heya, BB,” the bird Sans said, lifting his goggles.

“Hi, Ace! I brought someone to meet you!” Big held me out, and Ace’s bonebrows shot up.

“Whoa, aren’t you a little hummingbird?” he said stepping down off the railing.

“Y-yeah. Sorry, I just . . . your wings are so cool.”

“Heh, thanks.”

“This is Bunny. Ink brought her to take care of everyone.”

“Take care of us, eh?” Ace smiled, not seeming to take a bitty caretaker ironically, “glad to have you aboard.” He held out his hand to me and I shook his fingertip. He wore fingerless gloves on top of everything else.

“Thanks.” I was feeling confidant. So far everyone I met seemed really nice.

Should have known it was too good to be true.

Ace, Big Blue, and I headed back downstairs as it was apparently dinner time. Big explained that they were on a cooking rotation, and tried to eat at the same time each evening. We met up with Tango on the way down.

“Where should we set up Bunny to sleep?” Tango asked.

“I got so busy introducing her to everyone I forgot!” Big said, “maybe we can set you up in my room for tonight?”

“I guess that would be okay,” I said, “but I’d like to have my own space eventually.”

“Of course! We’ll figure that out first thing tomorrow! Until then I’d love to have you over for a sleepover!”

We stepped into the kitchen where dinner was . . . not going great.

Comet, bless him, was at the stove were a skillet was radiating smoke, and a pot of water had boiled down to the crystals.

“What’s on the menu there, Comet?” Ace asked.

“Oh! Hello, everyone! You’re just in time!” Comet held up the pot of over-boiled noodles, all mushy. The skillet held burnt meat and sauce.

“Oh boy . . .” I whispered.

“Wowie! You really used the flames of passion!” Big Blue said.

“Like a supernova!” Comet agreed. “What do you think, Bunny? I wanted to make something special for your first night!”

Damn, he was just as sweet as my Papyrus. His eyes sparkled with anticipation.

“Wow, thank you,” I said, “that’s so sweet. You know, I would love to cook with you guys next time, maybe I can show you some human tricks?”

Comet gasped. “That would be great! I cook breakfast tomorrow, so you can join me!”

“Sounds good,” I said, feeling relieved.

Big Blue took me into the dining room while Tango helped Comet set up plates. Coffee was there, sitting at the end and staring down at his hands.

There was another skeleton as well, and my heart skipped a beat at the sight of him.

“G-Gaster?”

“Oh, yes,” Big Blue said, “Um, Bunny, this is Fell.”

The Gaster stood up, narrow eyes on me. He wore a smart turtle neck, blazer, and long black pants. He looked like the Gaster I had met before, but also very different. There was a subtle sinisterness to his grin. His long fingers folded gracefully, and he wouldn’t stop staring.

“Well hello, my dear,” he said stepping forward. “How rude of Big Blue not to acquaint us.”

He held out his hand to me and I reluctantly took it. His fingertips grasped my tiny hand and pulled me forward. He leaned down and planted a ‘kiss’, getting far too close and making me blush. His eyelights brightened.

“You get mad if any of us disturb you, Fell,” Ace said pointedly.

“No matter,” Fell said, “it’s good to meet someone other than a skeleton here, and so small too. You must tell me all about yourself.”

Big Blue set me down on the table as Comet and Tango entered with the plates. Food was set out and I was given a small saucer.

There were two extra plates of food that Comet picked up.

“Who are those for? Who haven’t I met yet?”

“Well, there are a couple of others who need their . . . privacy,” Comet said.

“She’d probably be okay to meet Asy,” Tango said, “he’s been doing alright lately. But, um, there is one guy you should probably stay away from for now.”

“Who?” I asked.

“We’ll tell you more later, it’s your first night, why don’t you just relax and eat? Like Fell said, we want to hear about _you_ ,” Tango encouraged.

“Alright,” I said.

“I’ll be right back!” Comet ran off with the food and the rest of us dug in.

When he returned everyone started pelting me with questions, and I answered as best I could, starting from the beginning from when I first turned into a bitty, how I met the Sans and Papyrus of my world, and my adventures through the multiverse last year. Everyone seemed fascinated, even Coffee leaned forward to hear me better. Big Blue and Comet launched into questions about my favorite colors and food, but I cut them off, wanting to know more about what had happened to their universes.

The table became sober.

“From what Ink told us, Error went on a rampage, but he doesn’t know why,” Ace spoke up. “Just hitting random AUs. I remember how the sky started to glitch, and the blue strings . . .”

Coffee shuddered and hugged himself. “D-don’t talk about that,” he whispered.

The table went quiet.

“I’m so sorry you guys,” I said, “and I’m sorry I had to ask. I know how terrifying it is to go up against Error. But we’re safe here, right?”

“Yeah,” Tango spoke next, “Ink went through the carnage, found us all one by one and brought us here. Comet was hurt really bad.”

“I’m fine now though,” Comet said, his voice noticeably more reserved now.

But they weren’t fine, not on a soul-level. They were all hurting bad, and I felt determined to help.

“You know,” I said, “I’d like to get to know you guys more. Does anyone want to play a game? Do we have a set of cards or anything?”

Coffee shook his head.

“You guys play,” Tango said, “I’m not feeling up to it.”

“Okay, maybe later,” I said, “maybe an early bedtime would be better, I’m pretty out of it.”

Everyone nodded and went their separate ways. Most of the plates were untouched, so the food was thrown away and the dishes loaded in the washer. Big Blue carried me to Tango’s room so we could get my clothes. He had made me a new dress out of my t-shirt I noticed there was a piece of candy wrapped in the fabric, and Tango gave me a wink.

Big Blue’s room was a large space with lots of floating shelves that housed action figures, rocket ship models, and books. Big cleared off his bedside table and placed a pillow on top of it. I was set on the pillow, sinking down into the plush material.

“There we go! Are you comfortable?”

“Yes, very. So, is this how everyone spends their evenings?”

“Pretty much, we all just kind of stick to ourselves,” Big said sadly, “I’ve tried to get everyone together for movie nights, but they always just wander off.”

“Well I’ll help. It’s not healthy for everyone to be isolated right now, starting tomorrow we’ll get the fun and games going, yeah?”

Big’s eyes sparkled. “Yeah! I’m so glad you’re here, Bunny, I think it’s going to help a lot. Usually everyone eats in their room, but tonight they actually stayed at the table!”

I smiled. “That’s good, and it gives me an idea for tomorrow.”

“Oh! What is it?”

“It’s a surprise. Who’s in charge of lunch tomorrow?”

“We just fend for ourselves when it’s time for lunch.”

“Okay, maybe I’ll get Coffee to help me then, he needs to get out of his shell. Mind helping me get ready for bed?”

We washed up in the bathroom and I put on the nightgown Tango had made for me out of my T-shirt. We both settled into our beds and turned off the lights.

It was quiet, then . . .

“Um, Bunny?”

“Hm?”

“Could I . . . would it be alright if I held you for a minute?”

“Sure, you feeling okay?”

Big plucked me up from the pillow and settled me against his chest. “It’s always harder at night,” he confessed, “during the day I can keep myself busy, but at bedtime . . . I really miss my brother.”

“It’s okay, you hold me as long as you need.”

I heard him sniff in the darkness and his hands blanketed around me and he pressed me closer.

“Thank you, Bunny.”


	3. Picnics, Baseball, and Padded Rooms

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asylumtale was created by Furgemancs  
> (I’m not sure how Asy is pronounced. In my head I say ‘azzy’ but there’s no wrong way to eat a Reeses.)

In the morning I was still on Big Blue’s chest held securely in place by his large hands. His mouth hung open as he snored quietly. I pushed his fingers aside, wiggling myself free. Big snorted and rolled to his side, causing me to slide down his chest and bounce onto the mattress. I cried out as I fell, but the large skeleton didn’t wake.

I moved quickly, running to the foot of the bed before he could roll over anymore and crush me. I went around his feet and made my way back up the bed until I was close enough to jump onto the bedside table where my clothes waited. I got dressed then called out to Big.

“Hmmhuh?” Blue let out a sleepy moan and blinked his eyes open. He spotted me and smiled. “Hi, Bunny. Did you sleep well?”

“Yeah, how about you?”

“Best I’ve slept in weeks,” he said sitting up. “Uh oh! Look at the time! We better get started on breakfast!”

I covered my eyes as Big got dressed. He snatched me up and jogged out into the hall and down the stairs. The weight of his footfall echoed through the whole house, no doubt waking the others. In the kitchen Comet was already waiting.

“What should we make?” He asked excitedly. Big set me down on the counter.

“I’m feeling a big breakfast, pancakes and bacon.”

“Perfect!” Comet grabbed two skillets and slammed them onto the stove. I jumped at the impact.

“I’ll set the table!” Big said, grabbing a stack of plates and cups from the cabinet and taking it to the dining room.

I turned to Comet and watched in horror as he turned the temperature to high. “Whoa, Comet! Slow down!” I said. “Turn those off, we haven’t even mixed the batter yet.”

“Okay!” Comet did so and I sighed.

“How about, since there’s so many of us, we cook the bacon in the oven? We can bake it on a sheet.”

“Ooh, that sounds convenient. I’ll preheat it.” He grabbed the oven dial and turned it up to 500 degrees.

“Comet, no!” I cried out. I ran across the stovetop and grabbed the dial, turning it to 350 instead. “That’s too hot, it’ll cause a fire!”

“Yes, that’s the point!”

“No, that’s dangerous! Look, fire probably won’t hurt you since you’re bones, but I’m a human, it could kill me.”

Comet’s eyes widen in concerned. “I-it could?”

“Yes, fire is very dangerous for me. But it’s okay, this temperature is safe, and it won’t burn the bacon.”

“Huh, human cooking is a lot different than monster cooking. I’m learning so much!”

“Have you never met a human?”

“Nope, none of us have.”

Was there a connection? The universes that were destroyed didn’t have humans? I could ask Ink about it later, for now it was breakfast time.

I helped Comet mix up the pancake batter. The first batch he mixed so hard batter went flying everywhere, and I barely managed to dodge. After that I taught him how to mix _slowly_.

“You want enough batter to make pancakes, right? You can’t do that if it’s all on the walls.” I also showed him how to use a ladle to gently make the discs and _keep the temperature low._

“You’ll burn them,” I scolded gently. “See how it’s bubbling up like that? That means you can flip it.”

The first flip attempt had the pancake flying up and sticking to the ceiling.

“Flip it, _carefully_.” I thanked the makers for my patient soul.

Comet finally got the hang of things, creating a stack of pancakes that he somehow made into perfect circles. They were a little dark, but edible. The bacon came out perfectly, and I instructed him to put it on a towel-lined plate to soak up the grease. Comet took it all in stride, eager to learn.

When it was all done we filled the plates and set the table. Big Blue eagerly shouted out for everyone to come eat – loud enough that I had to cover my ears. One by one the other house members came down and took in the meal with surprised eyelights.

“Hey, looks good,” Ace said taking a seat.

Comet beamed.

“Yeah, really consistent pancakes here,” Tango said with surprise.

“This looks great, Comet!” Big said, “miss bitty! Will you cook with me next?! I want to learn human techniques.”

“Already planned on it,” I said, smiling tiredly.

“Hm, usually I just partake in coffee,” Fell said studying the food, “but this actually looks appetizing.”

“Nehehe! Dig in everyone!”

“I’ll drop off the plates and be right back,” Big volunteered, picking up the two extra servings.

“Wait! Big!” I stopped him. “I want to come and meet the others.”

“Oh, okay. You can meet Asy, but . . .”

“Not the basement, kid,” Ace said, “too dangerous.”

“Dangerous? Just who’s down there?”

“He’s a Sans, I believe,” Fell said, “but big. Very big. Almost took my arm off when I tried to examine him.”

“Bigger than . . ?” I motioned to Big.

“Just about,” Tango murmured.

Coffee, as usual, was silent.

“Okay,” I said uncertainly. Whoever it was, they couldn’t stay in the basement forever. I had met skeletons that _ate_ humans. How bad could this guy be? Fell didn’t strike me as someone with good bedside manner. Maybe they just needed some kindness.

Big Blue stopped at the basement first, which had a large, heavy door with a cat-door on the bottom. This he slipped the plate through, setting it down on the other side and quickly withdrawing. I made note of it from my perch on his shoulder as we walked away.

We returned to the second floor to a door he had avoided last time. This had a poster with big sloppy words on it that said: Asy and Guardian. Blue knocked then opened it.

“Beeee!” A voice squealed and a small figure bolted right into Blue’s middle. The giant skeleton wasn’t put off in the least, smiling down at his tiny hugger. The skeleton looked up at him, beaming.

He was wearing a straightjacket.

I sucked in a breath as I realized we were standing in a padded room, like one in a mental institution. The Sans before us had scars marring the top of his skull, and the oversized sleeves of the jacket hung off the ends of his hands.

My stomach clenched. It was like seeing my Sans in a straightjacket, and it wasn’t _right_.

“Good morning, Asy, you seem to be doing well today.”

“Uhhuh! Guardian says someone new is here!”

“Yep, you must have heard me introducing them.” Big Blue kneeled down so that I was at head-height with the new Sans. “This is Bunny.”

Asy gasped and slapped his covered hands over his cheeks. “Oh my gosh you’re so small! And cute! Not as cute as my Bunny though. I have a bunny, but he’s a dog, and he’s white.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Asy.” I took a look around the room. “Where’s this Guardian person you mentioned?”

“Right here of course!” Asy motioned to empty air.

“Imaginary friend,” Big whispered to me.

The skeleton snorted as if he had told a very funny joke. “Come in, come in! Welcome to my huuuumble abode!” He said waving his sleeves around as he backed up. Big entered and held out the plate.

“We’re just dropping off breakfast for you.”

“No! Nonono! Stay!” Asy gave us pleading eyes.

“Why doesn’t he come down with us?” I suggested.

“Um . . . well, he has been doing good the past few days,” Big said, unsure. “What do you think, Asy? Are you okay to eat with everyone else?”

“Feelin’ fine, R.L. Stine.”

“Okay, but you have to behave! No throwing food!”

“Okay. And I’ll hold Bunny,” Asy reached up for me. Big put out his hand to stop him.

“It’s okay, Big, he can hold me.”

“Bunny, really, he can be unpredictable,” Big whispered.

“It’s okay.” I smiled at Asy who carefully took me under my arms in his sleeve-covered hands. His body began to vibrate with excitement.

“Asy, calm down, deep breath.”

Asy sucked in a deep breath through his nose then blew it out through his mouth. It hit me in the face and I shook my head, laughing. Asy left the room, starting to bounce.

“No bouncing!” Big warned.

“The wonderful thing about Tiggers . . .” Asy sang under his breath as he tried to turn his gait into a normal walk. His hands stayed wrapped around my chest with my feet dangling, and when we reached the dining room he held me up like he was presenting Simba.

“Look what I have!” He cried.

“Uh, hi, Asy. You going to eat with us?” Tango asked, looking over at Big who carried Asy’s plate.

“Be careful with her, Asy!” Comet said.

“Careful, careful,” Asy chanted. He said it which each step until he reached a chair. He sat down and Big put the food in front of him. He looked at the plate, then down at me, then at the plate.

“Why don’t you set me down, Asy?” I said. “I’ll sit right next to you, I promise.”

“Right next . . .” he whispered, setting me on the table. I remained next to his plate, and Big graciously cut up a piece of bacon and pancake for me.

“Hehehe, tiny,” Asy said, reaching for his food.

“Uh uh! Sleeves!” Comet scolded. He reached over and helped Asy pull up his sleeves. Once that was done, he proceeded to eat with his bare hands. He beamed at me as I did the same.

“We’re same!” He said holding up his pancake.

“That’s right, no forks for us,” I said lifting mine as well.

“No forks!”

Everyone seemed to calm down and the tension drained away as we all dug in. Everyone complimented Comet on the food, who practically glowed from the praise.

“I have an announcement,” I said, “at noon I want everyone to meet me in the back garden, I have a surprise for you all.”

“What is it?” Ace asked.

“Come on, Ace, that’s not how surprises work,” I teased. “But I will need Coffee’s help. Coffee, do you mind?”

The thin skeleton looked up from his food, blinking. “Me?”

“Yeah, I can only do so much and I need your help.”

“Uh, okay.”

“Great, meet me in the kitchen at eleven thirty.”

“Sharp!” Asy declared.

“Give us a hint, Bunny!” Comet requested.

“It’s outside,” I winked.

“Ug!”

It felt good to have casual banter between the skeletons. We finished our breakfast, and Asy grabbed me before the plates could be taken away.

“Want to play a game with me?” I asked him.

He nodded rapidly.

“Okay, let’s go into the living room.”

Asy stood up and ran that direction, leaving our dishes for the others to take care of. I braced myself as we zoomed down the hall. In the living room he plopped down on the floor and stared at me unblinkingly.

“Um, do you know where the games are?”

He didn’t answer, just stared. Luckily Comet came in after us.

“Oh, good, Comet do you know if there are any games?” I asked.

“Yes, we have some in here.” Comet opened up the entertainment center under the television, revealing rows of board games and puzzles. This caught Asy’s attention and I told him to pick one out. He came back with a jigsaw puzzle.

“Guardian loves puzzles!” Asy said, dumping the pieces out.

“Who is Guardian, Asy?” I started searching for edge pieces. Comet crossed his legs and sat down as well.

“My brother! He always stays with me, even when everyone else disappeared.”

“Oh, well, I’m glad he’s here to watch over you,” I said uncertainly. I glanced at Comet but he just shrugged, offering a sad smile.

“Indeed, Asy! I envy you, I wish my brother were here with me.”

“Ah ha!” Asy snatched up two pieces and pushed them together, “got it!”

They didn’t match, but that was okay. I decided to steer the conversation away from brothers. “Tell me about your planet, Comet. I still can’t believe you’re an alien!”

“Nyehehe! I live on a marvelous planet where you can see the cosmos!” Comet regaled us with details about his home. I created the border for the puzzle, and Asy started to whisper to himself, sorting out the pieces by color.

“You think those two go together . . . oh, hey, you’re right . . . what about this one . . .” Asy whispered.

“–so we didn’t get sunlight, but you could see so many stars and planets! It was beautiful! I lived in Snowden, a village made entirely of space ice!”

“Sounds cold,” I said.

“As a skeleton it never bothered me! Then there was Hotland, where volcanic activity kept everything warm.”

“Waterfall . . .” Asy whispered.

“That’s right! We had a place called Waterfall. We didn’t get actual rainfall, but there were caverns with underground springs!”

“Um . . .” A new voice caught our attention and I turned to see Coffee standing in the doorway. “It’s eleven thirty. Are we still . . ?”

“Yeah!” I said happily, jumping up. “You guys continue the puzzle, I’ll see you in the backyard at noon.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Comet saluted me. Asy mimicked the motion. I saluted back and ran up to Coffee, pausing at his feet.

“Er, do you want me to . . .” Coffee rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.

“Yeah, would you mind giving me a lift to the kitchen?”

Coffee nodded and placed his hand down. I stepped onto his palm and he slowly raised me up. He walked carefully to the kitchen and quickly put me down on the counter.

“Okay,” I said conspiratorially, “I thought it would be fun to do a picnic!” I beamed, but Coffee’s expression stayed the same. I continued, “buuut, I need some help. So, let’s assembly-line some sandwiches, can you grab the ingredients?”

Coffee did so, fishing lunch meat, cheese, condiments, and bread. He spread on mayonnaise and mustard while I set out the slices of turkey. He finished it off with the cheese. Next we made a pitcher of lemonade. I stood on the coffee tin, pouring in the mix and sugar while Coffee stirred. That done he grabbed a bag of chips, threw everything into a cooler, and grabbed a blanket from the hall closet.

I boarded his shoulder and we stepped out into the backyard. “Which spot do you think?”

“Whatever you like.”

“You pick, I’ve been barking orders this whole time.”

“Uh . . .” Coffee dropped everything under a shady tree. It had only taken fifteen minutes to set up, so we still had time before the others arrived.

“Perfect! Thanks for your help, Coffee, I really appreciate it. Do you think the others will like it?”

“Big and Comet like everything,” he said.

“What about you?”

“Just glad to help.” He spread out the blanket and laid down on it, sighing softly. Light that slipped between the leaves danced on his face. I stepped casually onto his chest and sat in the middle, over his soul.

“I saw you playing video games yesterday. What do you like to play?”

“Play Mario Kart a lot. Animal Crossing.”

“Oh I love those! You want to play Mario Kart tonight? Do you have two player?”

“Yeah.”

“I mean, if you want to.”

“You can if you want.”

“What do _you_ want?”

“I dunno,” Coffee sighed. “Just . . . feeling lost.”

“That’s understandable.”

“Don’t know what I’m supposed to do.”

“It’s okay to feel that way. You’ve been through a lot.”

“Milord . . . he wanted to fight that thing. Told me to hide, said I would just get in the way.”

“I’m sure he only meant that he wanted to keep you safe. Are you talking about your brother?”

He nodded.

“Why do you call him ‘milord’?”

“Is the way it had to be. ‘M pretty useless. Pretending to be his servant kept us safe.”

“You’re not useless, Coffee. You did a great job with the picnic.”

“Milord always had to protect me. Don’t have LV or HP.”

“You don’t need LV or HP for the important things,” I said.

“If I could fight, I could’ve helped. I–”

“No, you couldn’t,” I said firmly, “not against Error. I know it’s hard to hear but you would have been lost like your brother. He’s too powerful. At least this way you can be with the other survivors, and maybe we can all help Ink set things right.”

Coffee didn’t answer. A tear had built up in the corner of his eye socket and escaped, rolling down his smooth temple.

“I- I’m sorry, Papyrus,” I used his real name, “I didn’t mean to lecture you. It’s okay to feel bad, I know you miss him.”

Coffee sniffed. “He was a complete ass.”

I chuckled. “Siblings, am I right?”

“Yeah.” Coffee wiped his face, clearing the tear away. “Got any?”

“Nope, only child. Foster kid actually, but I don’t remember any of it. Long story.”

“Heh, I wanted to accuse you of not understanding but . . . sounds like you do.”

“In some ways,” I agreed.

The sound of the door ended our conversation. Coffee sat up and caught me in his hand, scootching back to make room. From the house came Comet, holding Asy’s hand. Big, Tango, Fell at the rear, and . . .

I heard the whoosh from the sky and looked up. There was Ace.

“Oh! A picnic!” Big said.

“Yep! Everyone take a seat and dig in!” I said. Coffee sat me on his knee and passed out the sandwiches. Tango opened the chips and pickles while Big poured lemonade into solo cups.

“We have a perfectly good table _inside_ ,” Fell grumbled, leaning against the tree.

“But outside is fun!” I declared, “plus I thought we could play some games. It’s so pretty out, maybe there’s a frisbee we can throw, or a ball and bat.”

“And how would you be playing these games, hmm?” Fell challenged.

I shrugged. “Referee.”

“I would like a game,” Big said.

“Me too!” Comet clapped. “Tango?”

“Eh, sure.”

Asy didn’t respond, he had become distracted by some bees in the flowers and was chasing them.

I clapped my hands. “Alright, chug your lemonades and let’s go!”

Comet when to the garage and came back with everything we needed for baseball, stating that it would be interesting to play it with gravity. I split everyone into two teams of four. Coffee, Ace, Fell, and I went to the outfield while Big, Tango, Comet, an Asy were up to bat.

Asy wanted to go first, dragging the bat behind him and giving it a practice swing. Ace stepped up to pitch. I stuck with Coffee, sitting on his shoulder.

“Hey batterbatterbatter, swing batter!” I shouted.

Ace gave the ball a casual toss. Asy swung so hard he did a 360 spin and missed completely. On the second try he attempted to swing the bat like an axe. On the third strike he got distracted by a squirrel and went to investigate that instead.

“That’s out!” I cried.

Big stepped up next, hefting the bat in his large hands. When Ace threw the ball it connected with a loud crack and the ball went flying. Ace’s wings shot out and he flapped into the sky, catching it.

“Hey! No fair!”

“No wings, Ace. No magic,” I ruled.

“Changing the rules on us, ref?” Ace winked.

“Okay, the out still counts.”

“Aw.” Big took it with grace and stepped aside so that Comet could take the bat. This time when the ball was hit it went flying and Ace didn’t fly after it.

“You got this, Coffee!” I said excitedly as the ball arched toward us. Coffee hesitantly put up his mitt, but ducked his head. I grabbed his sleeve and pulled his arm over so that the ball landed neatly inside.

Coffee blinked.

Comet froze in his attempt to make a homerun. “Wowie! Great catch, Coffee!”

“That’s three outs! Switch!”

The next round of batters weren’t quite as enthusiastic. Ace was the only one to hit the ball – Fell was too busy plotting the trajectory to actually hit the ball, and Coffee was too nervous about _being_ hit. Ace’s hit went flying, and while Comet and Big were enthusiastic about being the ones to catch it, it went towards Asy, who was too busy picking flowers. The ball landed next to him while Comet and Big crashed into each other. With a happy squeal, Asy pounced on the ball and picked it up, giggling madly.

“Asy, throw it home!” Comet called.

Instead, the little skeleton turned it into a game of keep-away, running as Big and Comet went after him, trying to get the ball so that they could stop Ace.

The winged skeleton hadn’t actually left home base.

“Hey! It doesn’t count because you didn’t run!”

“Yes I did,” Ace said, “it was just so fast you didn’t see.”

“Oh . . .”

“Point to our team! We win!” I declared.

“Isn’t being the referee while on a team a conflict of interest?” Fell accused.

“How dare you, I am a fair and benevolent ref, who will now lord it over the losing team: Haha! We rock, you stink!”

Everyone seemed to be in good spirits as we headed back inside. Ace collapsed onto the couch, his wings dragging against the floor. “That homerun really wore me _out_.”

“Yeah? You feeling _safe_ on the couch?” Tango challenged.

“Yep, this is my home _base_.”

“These are the laziest puns I ever heard,” Comet rolled his eyes.

“Hehehe, puns, it just _hit_ me,” Asy giggled, then yawned.

“Sounds like it’s nap time,” I said. “Coffee, you still up for some video games?”

“Sure.”

“Don’t forget, Bunny! We’re making dinner tonight!” Big said.

“I’ll meet you in the kitchen this evening,” I promised.

Everyone went their separate ways and I stayed on Coffee’s shoulder as we entered his room.

“What do you want to play?” he asked.

“Whatever has the easiest controls. I’m at a bit of a disadvantage.”

“Uh . . . well, I do have a digital boardgame collection.”

“Perfect.”

We went through the list of boardgames, trying each one until we found our favorites, then doing tournaments to see who would be victorious. As Coffee became more comfortable he slouched against the pillows and I took a spot on his chest, enjoying the warmth of his hoodie. We became so comfortable in fact, that he fell asleep while I was planning my move during our chess game. I felt the breath of his snores on my back and looked over my shoulder with a giggle. 

I decided it was snack time and let the controller and myself slide off Coffee and onto the bed. I climbed the blankets to the floor and pushed the door open. Several hops down the stairs and I was tired and ready for some sugar.

At the bottom of the stairs the basement door caught my eye.

I entered the kitchen and found some cinnabunnies in a bottom cabinet. I grabbed two, deep in thought as I headed back to the stairs and eyed the animal door to the basement.

Whoever was down there couldn’t stay in the basement, and it was my job to take care of everyone, right? I needed to meet them.

Taking a cinnabun with me I stepped through the flap of the animal door and into the dark basement. The stairs gave me some problems as it was hard to see.

“Hello?” I called. “Sorry to intrude, you don’t know me, but I wanted to meet you.”

There was no answer, but I heard something shifting in the shadows.

“My name is Bunny,” I said. The crinkle of the cinnabun wrapper filled the room. “I brought you a cinnabunny. Hope we can get off on the right _rabbit’s_ foot. Heh.”

I looked up and in the darkness a giant red eye was staring at me. I froze. It was hard to see who was staring, but they were huge. Definitely bigger than Big Blue.

A hand the size of a dinner plate came forward and grabbed the cinnabunny from in front of me. The pastry disappeared in a wall of boney fingers. The tips of his fingers scrapped the wooden stair I stood on, leaving scratches in the grain.

“Okay,” I whispered breathlessly taking a step back, fear taking over my body. In the light of his eye I could see the glint of a golden fang and teeth as big as me. “I have to make dinner, so I’ll see you later.”

I climbed up the stair and dashed out through the door. On the other side in the light I was able to catch my breath, but not stop my trembling. I grabbed my cinnabunny and went to the living room, feeling too tired and shaken to climb up the stairs. I sat on a pillow and started nibbling on the ear of my snack.

Who the hell was that? The gold tooth reminded me of Red or Rus, but the eye was like Axe. Was it some weird combination of them? With all the strange universes I’d seen anything was possible. So many different versions of my boys.

I sighed, getting struck by homesickness. I thought of the pink paint waiting for me and decided I should use it tomorrow. I missed _my_ skeletons, and needed supplies anyway.

I heard footsteps and looked up to see Big. He spotted me and beamed. “Ah! You’re early! Couldn’t wait to cook with my magnificent, eh?”

“You know it,” I said, standing up. Comet leaned down and let me step into his cupped hands. “So what are we cooking?”

“Burritos!”

Huh, that was new.

In fact, cooking with Big wasn’t at all what I expected. He was actually very competent in the kitchen, stir frying vegetables while the rice cooked, and even toasting the tortillas in the oven.

“I prefer to keep my ‘flames of passion’ a bit lower,” Big smiled.

“Passion isn’t always big, bright, important things. Sometimes passion is focus and patience.”

“You’re right! I’ve had to be patient about joining the Royal Guard, and I’m very passionate about that!”

“Oh? You’re a member?”

“Indeed! Now then, what shall we make for dessert?”

“Oooh, going all out, huh?”

“Mwehehe! Of course! I’m a good cook, but an even better baker!”

Excited for something sweet, I eagerly agreed and helped out mixing up a batch of dough. Kneading it was a whole other challenge, and my arms became covered in the sticky stuff. Big laughed and helped me wash off.

Soon the house was filled with the savory scent of food, and the others started appearing in the dining room. Big left the dough to prove and loaded the plates with excitement and carried them six at a time (three on each arm) to the table.

“Where’s Asy?” I asked as everyone arrived.

“I put him in his room earlier! I’ll take his meal up to him!” Comet said.

“No, I want him down here eating with us,” I said firmly. “No more isolation. In fact no one go running off after dinner, we’re going to have a movie night together.”

“What’re we watching?” Tango asked.

“I’m sure we can find something will all enjoy. Maybe a classic 80’s comedy, can’t go wrong there.”

“I attended your picnic,” Fell said, “I have better things to do than watch films.”

“Like what?” I asked seriously, quirking an eyebrow.

“I am a scientist, bitty,” he said, an edge to his voice, “and I’m working on figuring out what happened to my universe.”

The others shifted uncomfortably and I saw their eyes dart down as if in guilt.

“No,” I said firmly, “I think everyone can spare a one hour break and relax. We’ll have some popcorn, share some laughs, then you can go back to whatever you want.”

Fell stood, crossing his arms. “You seem to think you have some kind of charge over me, and have any say in what I do.”

I crossed my arms back. “I can’t tell you what to do, but I am telling you what you need.”

“I assure you I don’t need anything.” Fell picked up his plate and stepped away from the table. “Especially not any childish activities. The baseball was bad enough.”

“Bad enough!” A voice mimicked him. We all greeted Asy as he came in riding on Comet’s back.

“Exercise is good for you, Fell!” I called after him as he made for the door, “laughing is too!”

“That is true, bitty!” Big said, “in fact I would like to propose getting on an exercise routine! I always ran in the morning, who would like to join me?”

“Ooh, I will!” Comet said, taking a seat. “I bet the extra gravity on this planet will make me even stronger!”

Asy giggled manically and stabbed his burrito messily with a fork, letting the fillings spill out. Coffee poured some chips on his plate and passed a jar of salsa.

“I prefer to stick to the skies,” Ace said.

“Too early,” Coffee said.

“Hehehe . . .”

“We didn’t even say what time!” Big protested.

“You said ‘morning’ that’s too early.”

“Hehehehehe . . .”

“How about you, Tango?”

“He’s got his dancing, right?” I asked.

“Eh, don’t do it much anymore,” Tango confessed. “Movie night sounds up my alley though.”

“Hehehehhehehehe . . .”

“Okay, what is that?” I looked around, the shrill sound commanding my attention.

It was Asy.

He was staring at the salsa, eyes wide and going fuzzy around the edges. He was gripping the fork tight, and the prongs were leaving scratches in the glass.

“Hehehehhhehehe!”

“ _Help him . . .”_ a voice whispered in my ear.

“Asy!” I cried out, jumping up. Tango, sitting next to him, put a hand on his back. Asy rammed the handle of the fork against his head, making a horrible _thunk_.

“Get his arms!” I instructed, running forward across the tabletop.

Tango managed to grab one, and Blue grabbed the other. They worked together to pull the straps around to his back and click them in place.

“Asy, Asy look at me,” I said, reaching the edge of the table. He looked at me and giggled madly, one eyelight swollen, the other shrunk. “It’s okay, take deep breaths.” What was happening? What was I supposed to do about a mental breakdown?

Big wrapped his arms around the smaller skeleton, holding him down. Asy flailed his legs and kicked the table hard enough that the plates clattered and I was knocked over.

“I’ll take him to his room!” Big said, carrying him away. I stared after them in shock, shaking, haunted by Asy’s echoing laughter.

“Bunny, you okay?” Ace placed his palm against my back.

“I-I . . . I’m so sorry . . . I thought he should spend time with everyone, I didn’t think . . .”

“Hey, not your fault, kiddo. Asy’s a little unstable, but his room’s padded, he’ll be okay.”

“I didn’t know what to do . . .” I looked down at my hands. “I kept insisting that he be let out . . .”

“Bunny,” Ace put his index finger under my chin and turned my head, “it’s _okay_ , you didn’t do anything wrong. Honestly . . . we kind of locked him away in there so we didn’t have to deal with it.”

“It was kind of shitty of us,” Tango said.

“Language!” Comet scolded.

“We didn’t know what to do about it either,” Ace said, “at least you tried something.”

I sagged.

“Hey,” someone poked me, and I was surprised to see that it was Coffee. “How about we do that movie, yeah? That sounded nice.”

The others echoed their agreements.

“Okay, yeah . . . okay,” I said, taking a deep breath.

“I’ll make popcorn,” Comet volunteered.

Coffee picked me up and we all herded into the living room. Big found us there.

“Is he okay?” I asked quickly.

“Oh yes! He was already pretty tired once we got upstairs, and he’ll be perfectly safe in his room because the walls are made of beds!”

“Will you help me check on him later? After the movie?” I asked.

“Of course!”

Reassured, I settled back against Coffee’s hoodie. Comet came in with the popcorn, and Ace had picked out a comedy for everyone to enjoy.

It didn’t take long for the Sanses to fall asleep. Comet and Big were entranced by the movie, and were quietly discussing the human customs. When Coffee fell asleep beneath me I decided it was time to check on Asy.

I slipped down to the floor, jumping off the couch and landing quietly on the carpet. I took another climb up the stairs, panting and sweating at the top. I went to Asy’s door and knocked, using both fists so that he could hear me.

“Asy! It’s Bunny, are you okay?”

I heard some soft shuffling on the other side of the door. “Bunny?”

“It’s me, Asy, are you hurt? How’s your head?”

“Head hurts . . . but voices stopped.”

“About that . . . I heard a voice too. Something told me to help you.”

“Guardian.”

“Your brother?”

“Mmhm.”

“Is he here now?”

“Yeah, he’s always here.”

That was went the door clicked open. My eyes widened and I jumped back. Asy was lying on the floor looking at me. Shadows had appeared under his eyesockets, and there was a purple blossom on his skull where the fork had struck him. He gave me a tired smile. “Hiya, chum.”

His arms were still strapped down.

“Wha- who opened the door?”

“Guardian did,” Asy said.

“But . . .” I walked into the padded room and looked around. “There’s no one here?”

Asy yawned and rolled onto his back so that he could stare at the ceiling. “Yeah, that’s what everyone says.”

I stepped inside the room and climbed up onto Asy’s chest. He giggled as I tugged on his straitjacket to pull myself up. I sat on my knees and he tilted his head to see me.

“That feels good!”

“That’s my soul connecting with yours,” I explained, “it should help you feel better.”

“Oooh,” Asy wiggled beneath me, “it’s warm and tingly!”

I agreed, soul connections tended to feel a little different with everyone, and Asy’s was especially strange. I watched his face as he began to relax, his fuzzy eyelights became more clear, and his breaths became steady.

“Can I have a radio in my room?” he asked quietly, “it’s too quiet in here sometimes.”

“Of course, yes, definitely, I’ll get that first thing tomorrow,” I said, eager to fulfill any request.

“Do you know any songs?”

“Well, I’m a pretty lousy singer, but I think I have some songs I can get away with.” I cleared my throat and picked out a simple song I had heard in a cartoon that wasn’t out of my range. I wasn’t being humble about my singing, but Asy seemed to like it.

Tears welled up in his eyes and he shut them.

“Oh, Asy, what’s wrong?”

I was cut off as a red-gloved hand reached down and touched Asy’s forehead. My head shot up and I saw a translucent floating Papyrus before me.

I gasped and jumped back, landing on my butt. Asy blinked his eyes open, and, upon seeing Papyrus, smiled.

“It’s just Guardian.”

“That’s . . . this is . . . I can see him!”

“Told you!”

Guardian looked at me in surprise. “ _You can see me? How?”_

“I don’t . . . oh! The soul connection!” I placed a hand on my chest, “it must have something to do with it.”

Guardian leaned forward, his ghostly face coming close to us. “ _How strange. I’ve never heard of such a thing._ ”

“It’s a bitty thing. But what are you? Why are you . . . Are you a . . .?” I was scared to use the word ‘ghost’, for fear of upsetting Asy.

“ _I am Sans’s brother,”_ Guardian said simply. He gave me a sad look. “ _And I am always with him, watching over him. That’s all that matters.”_

“I’m sorry . . . er, sorry that I didn’t see you before. It’s nice to meet you.”

“ _And you_.”

Guardian stroked Asy’s forehead and the little skeleton sighed comfortably, closing his eyes again.

“Do you know what happened to him earlier? What caused him to . . .?”

“ _The salsa. The red no doubt triggered him.”_

“Guardian makes spaghetti,” Asy said sleepily.

“Gods, I’m so sorry. I won’t let that happen again,” I said, “now that I can see you, you can help me!” I realized.

“ _Of course. And don’t be sorry, you’ve been very understanding of his needs. He particularly liked the baseball game._ ”

“Take me out to the ballgame . . .” Asy sang through a yawn.

I touched his cheek. “Get some sleep, Asy. I’ll check on you in the morning, okay?”

“Mmhm, cheerio.”

I stood up and hopped off the sleeping skeleton, landing on the padded floor. Guardian followed me to the door.

“ _I can lock this, don’t worry_.”

“Thank you. Honestly it’s such a relief to know you’re real, I was so worried about him being alone. If you don’t mind my asking, what happened to you two?”

Guardian sighed. “ _Sorry, but I do mind. Sans doesn’t remember as far as I can tell, and I want to keep it that way.”_

“I understand. Let’s talk more tomorrow, okay?”

He nodded, and, with a ghostly limb, shut the door. I turned away, but it suddenly opened again.

“ _Bandaids._ ”

“Huh?”

“ _Sans likes colorful bandaids. They make him feel better.”_

I nodded with conviction. “You got it.”

Guardian smiled and closed the door.


	4. The Skeleton in the Basement

The sun wasn’t up yet, but I was awake, staring at the window. I wanted coffee, I wanted to go home.

I had slept on a pillow in the living room, telling the others that I needed some alone time. Sometime in the night I had brought the basement-dweller another cinnabunny. This time he didn’t answer, so I left it on the stairs.

Now the sun was slowly rising, and I stared out on the misty garden with tired eyes. Through the vague dawn I saw a shadow emerge, and I recognized the shape of a giant paint brush and a long scarf.

I eagerly jumped up and went to the sliding glass door that led to the garden. I waved until he spotted me and opened the door.

“Hi, Bunny!”

“Ink! I’m so glad you’re here, I need to go back home and get some things. Have you found Error yet?”

“Nope, he’s hiding pretty well, luckily there haven’t been any more destroyed AUs though.”

“That’s good at least.”

“How are things here?”

“Not too bad.” I stepped outside onto the porch and Ink shut the door, kneeling down to hear me better. “The guys are pretty depressed, but my soul connections have been helping. I _should_ be mad at you for shrinking me . . . but I understand why you did it.”

Ink fell back on his coccyx, crossing his legs. “You know, all the AUs are different and unique in their own ways, but one thing I’ve noticed – no matter the universe – is that skeletons do better with a human companion.”

“Why’s that?”

“Humans . . . like to be helpful,” Ink said thoughtfully, “I think. Not always. It’s like they _want_ to be helpful, but don’t always know how. With the skeleton monsters, they can be. Does that make sense?”

“Not really?”

“Well, never mind. You said you needed to go home? You’re coming back, right?”

“Yes, yes, I’m coming back, but I need some things. You didn’t give me a chance to pack.”

“Oh, alright then.” With a swing of his brush, Ink created a portal and I stepped through.

A strange rush hit my body, like a heavy wind on the inside, and when I opened my eyes I was standing in my kitchen, now at my regular human size.

Papyrus was there too, almost dropping his coffee cup when I appeared.

“Bunny!” the cup was thrown, shattering in a corner, and Papyrus swept me up into a big hug. I giggled as my feet left the floor and he swung me around. “Brothers! Bunny is back!”

“Heya, kid, had us a little worried there, you know.” Papyrus stopped spinning and I spotted Sans at the table as if he had been there the whole time.

“I’m sorry, it was Ink, he left before I could–”

“Is that bastard here?” G interrupted, stepping into the kitchen and looking around. “He pulled me away before I could even say goodbye to you.” G took me from Papyrus and kissed my forehead. “You alright, kitten?”

“Yes, I’m okay.” I hugged him back. “Missed you guys like crazy though.”

“Just stopping by?” Sans asked.

“Unfortunately, yes,” I nodded to the portal of paint that was still present on the floor. “I promised I would go back. The refugees . . . well, Ink was right, they do need me.”

“You’re too nice for your own good, you know that?” G teased, knuckling my chin.

“That’s one way to spend your summer vacation.” Sans winked.

“Ugh, don’t remind me.” I turned away and headed for my room. Papyrus followed, asking questions about his alternatives. G stayed behind to study the portal, and Sans was already in my room, dozing on my bed as if he had been there the whole time. I told them about the new monsters I had met while I retrieved my emergency bitty box – the shoebox I used to live in filled with my old clothes and utensils. I made sure to grab Cucumber as well. The well-worn, rainbow caterpillar gave me a loppy smile.

“I’m bitty size in the other dimension, but I guess it’s only there,” I explained as I continued packing.

“Better be extra careful then, Bun,” Sans said, “you got people that care about you, ya know?”

Papyrus insisted I stay for breakfast and I was happy to oblige. I told the story of the baseball game while he cooked, and we dug into a hearty meal of French toast.

It felt good to be home, but as the hours got closer to the afternoon I was forced to bid farewell. Hugs were passed around with the promise that I would use my emergency portal vial if anything happened.

Box in arm I took a deep breath and stepped back into the pocket world.

I was falling.

As I shrank I felt my box leave my arms, but my feet didn’t hit solid ground, instead I hit a wall of sticks and branches and just barely caught myself before tumbling any further. I was in a tree, dangling from a small branch.

What the hell was with these portals?!

“Ink! Help! Someone!” I called out trying to pull myself up. “Heeelp!”

My arms ached, and in trying to pull myself up my muscles gave in, and I went falling, screaming all the way.

“Gotcha!”

There was a woosh of air and I felt myself land on something bony. My stomach dropped as if I were on a rollercoaster, and when I opened my eyes I saw I was in Ace’s hands, being swooped up into the sky.

I cried out and grabbed his fingers in terror as we went higher.

“Easy there, hummingbird,” Ace said, looking down at me through his goggles. “You alright?”

“Too high!”

“What? This isn’t high!” With a flap of his great wings we gained altitude. I screamed and Ace laughed.

“Don’t worry, kiddo, I got you,” he assured me. The rush of elevating faded away and everything went still. Taking deep breaths I opened my eyes and saw that Ace was soaring gently toward the horizon, his wings carrying us silently. He squeezed me tight and I wrapped my arms around his thumb.

“Don’t drop me,” I whimpered.

“I would never. Come on, you don’t like it at all? You’re _flying_.”

I was still calming myself down and couldn’t really enjoy the novelty of it, but it was a beautiful sight.

“Doesn’t get better than this,” Ace said taking a deep breath. The aliferous skeleton made a turn on the tip of his wing and we made our way back to the house.

“How big is this world, Ace?” I asked. He was such a smooth flyer that I didn’t have to yell over the wind.

“Not very, when I fly toward the horizon it eventually circles back to the B&B. It’s very strange, but Ink did say it was just a ‘pocket’.”

“Not much beyond the garden?”

“No, just random woods.”

When we reached the house Ace landed on his balcony and entered his room. He looked down at me and chuckled. “Little windswept there, hummingbird.”

I tried to press my hair down, but it would need a good combing. Speaking of which: “I dropped my shoebox under the tree.”

“Oh, was that yours? I’ll go back and grab it, wait here.” He set me down in his nest of cushions and blankets and I sank into the pile. Ace turned and took a running jump back out the balcony doors, wings spreading as he dived.

“Wow,” I whispered collapsing back. That was intense, and I was happy to be back on solid ground. Ace returned quickly with my box in his hands.

“Here you go, sorry about that.”

“No, no, it’s okay, I dropped it when I came through a portal. I went back to my world to get some of my old bitty stuff. Thanks for catching me, by the way. You really know how to sweep a girl off her feet.”

“Of course, I was on _cloud_ nine.”

“You’re a real _air_ head!”

“Hey, I do alright. Pass all my exams with _flying_ colors.”

I giggled and he sat down next to me, sinking into the bed. “Nice to know someone who appreciates the fine art of puns.”

“Living with a Sans, you either roll with them or go crazy,” I said, “hey, could you hold me against your chest, please?”

“Sure, you the cuddly type?” Ace picked me up and slouched against the bed, setting me on his ribs. I adjusted myself to get comfortable.

“Sometimes. So how have you been doing, Ace?”

He shrugged. “Things are looking _up_. I keep my expectations _high_.”

I stared at him seriously.

“What? Guess that one _flew_ right over your head.”

“Aaace . . .”

“What can I tell you that you don’t already know? I’m sad, I’m stuck, there’s nothing I can do about it, nothing you can do about it either. Not worth asking about or thinking about.”

“Tell me about your brother, does he have wings too?”

“’Course, everyone does in my world.”

Ace went quiet and I waited patiently.

“Big white wings,” he said quietly, “he was a strong flyer, the fastest I ever saw. He wore an orange cape, so I could always see him no matter how far ahead he got. I’d always just coast on wind gales, but Paps . . . he’d do amazing air tricks and get everyone’s admiration.”

“He sounds amazing. I can’t wait to meet him.”

“Yeah . . .” Ace sighed, a choked sound, as if he was holding back tears. “What are you doing, Bunny?”

“Helping,” I whispered. I placed my hand over the spot warm with our soul connection, and let it do its magic.

* * *

Ace took me and my box downstairs, setting it up on the living room floor so that I could get to it later. We then went to the kitchen where Ink was being treated to breakfast. Comet and Big were showing off their new ‘human’ cooking techniques.

“Ink!” I called, getting his attention. Ace set me down on the counter. “I’m glad you’re still here, there are a couple of things I need before you go again.”

“Your wish is my command,” Ink gave his brush a confident twirl.

“I need some colorful Band-Aids, and a radio for Asy.”

“Easy peasy.” Ink worked his magic, and the items I requested appeared on the table. I opened the Band-Aid package and took in the rainbow and cartoon bandages inside.

“Thank you, he’ll love these.”

“No problem! Anything else you need?”

“Nah, I got my bitty stuff from home, and my box is setup as a bedroom.”

“Box?”

Ace pointed to the living room and Ink investigated, grabbing me along the way.

“Hey!” I was shocked as he wrapped his fingers around my waist and carried me along. He looked around the room taking in my shoebox.

“What?! This won’t do at all! Watch _this_.” Ink went to work, running his paintbrush through the air. Lines appeared, and the colors changed on their own. An architectural structure appeared and my mouth dropped open.

When he was done there was a little house in the corner of the room next to the fireplace. It was like an elaborate dollhouse, and everything was just my size.

“That’s better! Here, check it out.” Ink set me down in front of the door and I took in the little building with awe.

“Ink, this is amazing!” I ran inside and took it all in. It was beautiful with all the walls painted in different colors. There was a sitting room with tiny chairs and books! I grabbed one and opened it – yes, real books with tiny text! A bedroom with an actual bed my size! There was even a bathroom with a shower! I screamed and squealed as I ran around, checking everything out. I could hear Ink chuckling smugly outside, and approved murmurs from the other skeleton’s as well.

“Wowie! It’s so cute!” Comet said.

“Yeah! Tango and I were making a cardboard room for Bunny but this is much better!” Big agreed.

There were pictures of each of the skeletons hanging on the walls, a breakfast nook next to a bay window that looked out on the living room, and on the second floor a bonus room with a balcony. I threw the French doors open and stepped out, beaming.

“Ink, this is amazing! Thank you so much!”

“You’re welcome, miss Bunny!” Ink said, grinning.

“The bathroom and shower actually work?”

“Yep! Warm running water and everything.”

I squealed again and jumped up and down with happiness. As a bitty I had learned to let go of certain comforts, so this was a dream come true.

“Welp, I got to get going, Error isn’t going to catch himself.”

“Wait!” I stopped him. “You said you had a friend watching over this dimension earlier, who is it?”

“Oooh, another friend?” Comet asked.

“He’ll be outside the pocket,” Ink explained, “but I’m sure he’ll introduce himself eventually. Don’t worry about it. See ya!”

With a splash of black paint, Ink disappeared, equal parts helpful and useless all at once. But I couldn’t be mad, I had my own bitty house! I ran outside and grabbed my clothes and items to move in. Big and Comet were completely charmed by it and helped me move things in. Their bright eyes peered in through the windows to get a better look at everything.

“Oh my gosh, I’m going to take a real shower!” I declared. I shooed the boys away and they retreated to the couch where Ace was snoozing. I got the water running and stepped into the warm flow, practically melting with gratitude. I put on some clothes – ones that Stretch had gotten me so long ago – and stepped out feeling refreshed and ready to take on whatever was thrown at me.

It was time to get Asy.

Taking the package of bandages in my arms, I slipped passed the others and made the hard trip upstairs. When I knocked on Asy’s door, it was open by Guardian, who floated, semi transparent above me, his legs faded into a ghostly whisp.

“ _Good to see you, Bunny. Asy has been talking about you all morning_.”

“Aw,” I cooed and stepped inside. Asy was looking out the window, but turned when I stepped in.

“Bunny!” He cried, flapping his long sleeves in the air.

“Hi, Asy! I got a present for you.” I held up the package and Asy gasped in delight.

“Band-Aids! Yay! Put them on!”

Asy sat down and I tore the package open, pulling some out. He took me in his hands and lifted me to his face. Standing on his palms I opened the bandages and pulled the peels off. Asy closed his eyes while I put one on the bruise on his forehead.

“Mmm, more please?”

I looked to Guardian for guidance and he silently pointed to the small cracks on Asy’s skull. Soon he was covered in a rainbow of Band-Aids and looking pleased.

“I feel so much better.”

“I’m glad. Band-Aids always make me feel better too. Do you want to come downstairs now? We can work on your puzzle until lunch.”

“Okay.”

Still holding me, Asy stood and headed downstairs. Guardian floated behind us. Ace was still sleeping on the couch in the living room, but the others were gone. Asy sat down on the floor, but kept me cupped to his chest.

“You going to hang onto me, bud?” I asked.

“Mmhm, feels good.”

“Okay.”

Guardian joined in as well, sitting on the other side of the puzzle and pointing out pieces for Asy to try. With our soul connection it didn’t take long for him to become relaxed and sleepy. Eventually Asy slumped to the floor, hugging me close, and fell asleep.

Guardian gave me a small smile. “ _Still such a lazy bones._ ”

“Think you can help me slip away?”

Guardian took his brother’s hands and gently lifted his fingers, allowing me to crawl out from under them.

“Thanks, I’m going to find one of the boys, see if they can help me with lunch.”

“ _I’ll let you know when he wakes_.”

Unfortunately I couldn’t find anyone on the first floor, so it was another trip up the stairs. I needed to figure out an easier way to climb those. I huffed and puffed, pulling myself up each one until I reached the top. I caught my breath and wandered down the hall, looking for one of the boys.

The sound of music reached my ears, and when I followed it I saw that Tango’s door was open a crack. Curious, I stepped closer and peered inside.

Tango was _dancing_.

My mouth dropped as I watched the skeleton move. His sneakers spun over the hardwood floor as he dipped and weaved, going into the splits then back up. At the end of the song he ended in a headstand, holding himself there until the song petered out.

I couldn’t help it, I stepped inside. “Tango . . .”

He jumped in surprise and spotted me.

“That was amazing!”

He blushed and rubbed the back of his head. “It’s just some practice . . .”

“Please don’t be embarrassed, you’re so talented. Oh! Could you teach me some?” I became excited at the idea. “I’ve always wanted to dance!”

“I don’t know if I can teach you,” Tango walked over to me and bent down, “everyone has a different dance, a song in their soul.”

“Really?”

“I’ll show you.” He held his hand out to me and I stepped onto it. His fingerless gloves were soft on my feet. “Close your eyes, listen to the thrum of your soul. Can you hear it?”

I frowned. “No, I’ve never really heard anything from my soul before.”

“It might not work if you’re not from my universe.”

“Wait, I have an idea. Hold me close to your chest.”

Tango obliged and held me close. I closed my eyes as our souls connected, and I listened.

There it was, faint, but noticeable, a song. It drummed like the pump of a heart at first, then an actual beat formed, and other sounds slipped in, like instruments but . . . more natural, as if the body itself was making the music.

“Wow,” I whispered, smiling, “I hear it.”

“I . . . hear yours too,” Tango said. “How are you doing that?”

“It’s our souls. As a bitty I can connect with monsters. It’s a healing thing.”

Tango took my tiny hand between his thumb and index finger and lifted it above my head, giving me a twirl on his palm. I giggled as I spun. Tango smiled down at me and lead me through the motions.

“Your song is like a Viennese waltz,” he said, “elegant but quick.” He wrapped one of his fingers around my waist and pulled me around, then spun me out again. It was like my feet knew what they were doing with his guidance, even though I had never had a lesson. The song in my soul overpowered his as I danced on his hand. At one point we perfectly synced up, as if I knew what he was going to do, and his fingers went under my arms, lifting me up and turning me while I pointed my feet.

I was beaming with happiness, it felt so good, so perfect.

My song quieted down and I could hear Tango’s again, a fun, strong beat throughout my body.

“Yours sounds like a hip hop song,” I said.

Tango grinned teasingly and hugged me tight with his fingers as he suddenly spun, dipping down to the floor then jumping back up in time with the music. I squealed and laughed at the motion, feeling as though I was on a roller coaster.

“Thanks for taking me for a _spin_ ,” I joked.

“No problem, glad you _waltzed_ in here.”

“Me too, you really _break_ it down,” I laughed.

“Good one, kid. That was . . . actually really nice. Been a while since I danced with someone.”

“Maybe when I’m big again we can do it for real,” I said.

“Hey, don’t sell yourself _short_.”

I rolled my eyes. “Never heard that one before.”

“You’re just _tutu_ cute.”

“Okay, okay, how about we get some food? Want to help me with lunch?”

“Sure, maybe we can have some _salsa_.”

“Ugh . . .”

Tango carried me back downstairs where some of the others were working on lunch too. Ace was sweet talking Comet into making him a sandwich and Asy was awake, peeking over the counter and watching Big take something out of the oven.

“Ah! Tango! Bunny! May I interest you in a sandwich as well?”

“Sure, thanks Pap- I mean, Comet,” Tango said, taking a seat. “Bunny can share with me.”

“How about a PB and J then?” I requested.

“Sounds good.”

Comet whipped up the food and Big showed us what he had baked. My eyes lit up.

“What is it?”

“A pecan braid!”

“Smells so good!” I inhaled deep, “wow, you really are a great baker.”

“Thank you!” Big set the treat down and cut it up into even servings.

That reminded me.

Taking the pastry, I jumped to the ground and I carried it out of the kitchen.

“Oh, are we eating dessert in the living room?” Big said, “I’ll clean up!”

“Meet you there,” I called over my shoulder. Once out of sight I headed to the basement door.

“What are you doing, Bunny?”

I jumped realizing that Tango had followed me.

“I’m giving this to the person downstairs,” I said, “It’s alright, I’ve visited a couple of times already.”

Tango stiffened. “That’s really dangerous. _He’s_ dangerous. You should have told one of us.”

“I’m here to take care of everyone,” I said.

Tango shrugged. “I’m not going to stop you but . . . be careful.”

I nodded and headed for the pet door. Tango kneeled and pushed it open for me. “I’ll wait.”

I stepped into the dark basement and called out gently, letting the echo of the room carry my voice. “Hey, it’s me, I’m back. I brought you another sweet.”

There was a creak, then the glow of a red eye broke through the shadows. I trembled at the sight of it, feeling as if I was prey being hunted.

I set the pecan braid down and the skeleton slowly ascended the stairs, making them groan under his weight, and it did seem to be a great weight. His entire body took up the narrow stairway. As he approached I finally got a better look at him beyond the eye.

I felt my blood run cold.

He had a hole in his skull, like Axe, but unlike Axe the hole was much bigger, actually cracked over his one working eye. His teeth were horrible, pointed fangs with saliva dripping from between them as he stared at the dessert. When he reached for it I could see his claws clearly, his fingers as big as me. The sight made my legs tremble, and I could only stand frozen, staring as he picked up the treat, lift it to his face, and drop the whole thing in his giant maw.

Then his eye turned back to me, staring and unblinking.

“U- I . . .” I tried to speak but couldn’t. It was too dark, too big, too much.

He started to reach for me.

I squeaked in fear and turned, dashing out of the basement. Tango’s hands immediately fell over me and swept me up.

“You okay? What happened?”

“I- I’m okay,” I whispered, trying to stop myself from shaking. “He’s just . . . he’s so . . .”

“I know, it’s okay. He attacked Big when we first came here. Big tried to bring him food and he got really aggressive. That’s why we had to put in the pet door to pass him meals.”

“And he’s been down there the whole time?”

“Yeah.”

I shuddered. “That’s awful, we can’t just leave him down there. Will you come in with me?”

“Uh, I don’t know about that one, kid.”

“Please? I just want to talk to him, but I can’t do it by myself.”

“He’s not the talking type.”

“Let’s just try, just stand in the door.”

“And what if we agitate him to the point that he goes on a rampage? His LV is too high to risk it.”

“LV? What’s that?”

“It’s something monsters can see. It means . . . that he’s killed people.”

My mouth dropped in horror. “What? How can you know that?”

“It’s something monsters can tell about each other. Big saw it when basement guy tried to fight him. I’m sorry, Bunny. I appreciate that you want to help everyone, but if he decides he wants to hurt anyone . . . we might not be able to protect ourselves.”

“Oh my god, I had no idea.”

We both looked at the door with worry.

There was a creak.

We both jumped. Was the other skeleton listening? Tango stood up and carried me away quickly. We met the other’s in the living room where a movie was playing. Asy’s face was covered in crumbs from Big’s treat, Comet was on his way to finishing the puzzle, and Fell was there as well, drinking a coffee and talking to Ace.

“I see,” Fell was saying as we stepped in, “and there haven’t been any side effects?”

“No, actually felt really nice. Oh, here,” Ace spotted me, “she can tell you all about it.”

Fell turned and looked at me, eyes narrow. “I understand you have been making soul connections with the others.”

“Oh, yes, it’s a bitty thing,” I explained, “I can connect with monster souls.”

“What about other humans? What is the effect?”

“I never tried it with humans–”

“What are the long-term effects?”

“I never really did it with anyone that long–”

“What is your soul trait? What have the effects been on you?”

“Can’t hear the movie!” Asy protested, cutting off Fell’s line of questioning. The tall Gaster gave the smaller skeleton a disapproving look.

“I’m sorry if my scientific research is intruding on your trifle entertainment.”

Asy made a face and turned up the volume. Rolling his eyes, Fell marched out of the room, ignoring everyone as he went back upstairs.

That was fine, after the basement I needed to unwind. Tango set me down on a pillow and I settled in to watch what was on TV. The others seemed content with this low-key afternoon as well, and we settled in for a relaxing day.


	5. The Monster in Your Basement

“Fell, if you want to know more about soul connections, I’ll answer what questions I can.”

It was after dinner. I had assisted in cooking with Comet and we had made a decent meal of Tortellini soup and garlic bread. I managed to grab Fell’s attention before he could slunk off again.

He regarded me then nodded, offering out his hand. We both realized that would be a problem as there were two large circles in his palms. With an irritated sigh, Fell grabbed me around the waist and carried me upstairs to his room.

Fell’s room was a bit messier than I expected. He had a large desk with a computer and a few strange instruments. Papers were everywhere, pinned to the walls and crumpled on the floor. He obviously didn’t sleep much as there were several dirty mugs and his bed was covered in books.

“Wow, you’ve been doing a lot of research,” I said.

“I’ve learned that my world is part of several alternative worlds and it can be accessed by outside forces, there is much to do.” Fell set me down on the desk and dug around for a notebook and pen.

“Tell me about these soul connections,” he demanded, “the flying one was less than informative.”

“Actually, Fell, it would be easier for you to understand if I just show you.”

“Hm, I suppose. There’s no better way to understanding than first-hand experience.”

“Why don’t you lay down on the bed?”

He frowned. “Is that necessary?”

“It’ll be more comfortable. I just need to be against your chest.”

“Fine, fine.” He cleared the books off, setting them on the floor then grabbed me again and settled down on the mattress, setting me on his ribs. I sat down over his soul – the warmest part of his body – and gave him a smile.

“My soul trait is patience, but that part doesn’t really matter. Sans – my Sans – found out that soul connections are something that all bitties in our world can do, but since we found a way to reverse it, there aren’t really any bitties any more. Some voluntarily remained small, but the others were able to be brought back to their human sizes, so there wasn’t a lot of study put toward soul connections. All we really know is that it makes monsters . . . feel better. You know?”

“So, you know nothing.” His voice was creepily flat.

“I . . . um . . .”

“How are you doing this?” Fell’s voice was eerily calm as he snatched me off his chest, fingers binding down on my arms.

“Ouch! That’s too tight!”

His white eyelights glowed brighter in the darkness. “It’s time to see how that little soul of yours works, bitty.” He stood up and carried me to his desk. “Are you going to be a good girl and hold still for me?”

“Stop it!” I said, kicking my legs.

“The hard way then.” He slammed me down onto the desktop, pushing the air out of my lungs. I gasped and struggled to inhale. Fell took advantage of this. He grabbed some tape, forced my hands above my head, and taped them down to the desk. He layered the tape on thick so that I couldn’t pull free.

My throat rattled as I managed to breath, but before I could struggle he tapped down my ankles, and even my middle for good measure.

“Fell!” I panted with fear, “let me go.”

“After I get a chance to study you,” Fell said, “your little trick might work on the others, but not me. _I’m not a nice person_.”

With a curve of his finger he seized my soul, and I cried out as it was forced from my chest. I wiggled against my restraints, but the tape barely budged, sticky and firm against my skin. “Stop!”

“What a little thing,” he whispered in awe, putting the tip of his finger beneath the floating heart and coaxing it up closer to his face.

[***Bonus Smut Chapter***](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18900019/chapters/70902654)

“Stop it!” I screamed ferociously. My soul flared and pulled away from him, darting back to my body. Teeth gritting with anger I forced the little heart to listen to me, dodging as he tried to grab it.

The door slammed open, something big forcing it off the lock, and a dark figure stepped inside.

“Big–!”

It wasn’t Big.

A giant red eye shined at us from the shadows, and shined off a pair of sharp fangs. It was the skeleton from the basement. We both froze at the sight of him filling up the doorway, ducking to get inside.

Fell backed away, but wasn’t able to dodge the giant arm that came down on him, knocking him to the floor.

I cried out in fear. At the sound of my voice the giant paused and his red eye drifted over to me, as if his brain was trying to catch up with what he was seeing. He turned away from the crumpled Fell and stepped up to me, one of his large claws coming forward and hovering above my face. I turned away, and his phalange gently rested on my cheek, almost covering my entire head.

He made a soft rumbling sound, then his fingers were all around me, surrounded my body as I was lifted from the table, my wrists pulled painfully from the tape. I yelped and tried to get my bearings, but I was caged in his hands and disoriented. We were moving.

“Help! Someone!” I called out. I could see the house passing by between the gaps of his fingers as we walked down the hall. I heard footsteps and shouting, and then, like an earthquake, a deep, shuddering growl.

Everything froze and went silent.

“H-hey, big guy . . .” that sounded like Ace, “why don’t we put the girl down, yeah? You don’t want to hurt her . . .”

The answer was another growl. I whimpered, and the cage of bones closed in closer on me, forcing me to curl up into a ball. “P-please, please don’t–”

We suddenly moved in a rush, causing me to roll. I heard more shouts, then darkness closed in and I heard a door slam.

One of the hands lifted like the lid off a jar and I was bathed in red light. I rolled over onto my back and started to tremble at the monstrous face staring down at me, wide grin showing off the rows of pointed teeth.

The rumbling sound returned and he raised his hand again, pressing his finger against my head. I raised my hands up in defense, grabbing his index finger as it petted my hair. He sighed.

That’s when I realized that the noise he was making was a purr.

I swallowed, my mouth having gone dry. He stroked my body carefully, starting at my head and moving over my shoulder and across my back. He continued this movement, seeming content.

“You . . . won’t hurt me?” I whispered.

He didn’t answer, just continued petting.

“Do you remember me?” I asked, “My name is Bunny, remember?”

“Hmm,” he hummed, revealing a deep baritone.

“What’s your name?” I asked. I was still trembling, and his invasive touches weren’t helping, but I tried to keep my cool.

“Sans.” His voice was like a deep pit, vibrating through my whole body.

“Do you have a nickname? Did Ink give you one?”

“ . . . Copper.”

“Okay, Copper, why don’t we go upstairs?”

He growled softly and curled his claws in on me. I winced and shrunk in on myself fearfully.

“I-It’s okay, everyone is really nice, and we can get more cinnabunnies.”

His hand relaxed a little, but his expression was troubled.

“Dangerous,” he murmured, “black skeleton . . . destroyed everything.”

“That skeleton is gone,” I said, “it’s okay.”

We both heard the click of the door opening and our heads shot up. Copper growled and pulled me closer to his chest.

“Bunny? Can you hear me?” That was Comet.

“I’m here, I’m okay,” I called back.

Copper growled louder.

“Easy, that’s Comet, he’s our friend,” I said, wrapping both my hands around one of his fingers.

“Are you hurt?” That was Tango.

“No.” I patted and rubbed Copper’s finger and that seemed to settle him. He stopped growling anyway.

“What should we do, Bunny? Do you want us to come down?” Comet asked.

“No, stay right there. I’m going to make a soul connection and calm him down.”

“What can we do?”

I looked up at Cooper, his red eye staring back at me and the giant crack in his skull, reminding me of someone else.

“Bring some food. A lot of food.”

* * *

It was a buffet. At the request for food, Big and Comet went into overtime, making spaghetti, soup, pancakes, bacon, and garlic bread. I talked Copper into holding me close to his chest, which he happily did, rubbing my back with one of his giant fingers.

The soul connection seemed to ground him and I was able to explain that he wasn’t in danger, and that food was coming. Finally, the lights were turned on and food was brought down. Copper’s eye widened at the sight of the steaming dishes, though he was wary of the others being in the room with us.

“I’m not going anywhere,” I told him, “I’ll stay with you for now, so why don’t you just eat, okay?”

“Yes, enjoy my culinary masterpiece!” Comet said placing the plate in front of Copper. “You’ve been enjoying them already, but this is made with human techniques!”

The basement actually had a good set up now that I could see it. There was a table, which Copper sat at to eat, a large bed in the corner, and a television and a giant armchair. Copper dug into his meal with vigor, and he eventually put me down on the table so that he could use both hands to eat. Fork in one, bread in the other. Big set a mug of water down and took the chance to check me over.

“You okay?”

Copper watched us. Big didn’t make a move to pick me up.

“Just really shaken up,” I said, feeling worn out and tired. I sat on my knees upon the table, leaning against the mug.

“What happened?”

“It was Fell,” I said, “he was . . . well, he wasn’t being nice, and I guess Copper must have heard me through the walls and came up to save me. You go back up with the others now, I’ll see if I can convince him to come upstairs.”

Big agreed and left. Once all the plates were cleared – Copper licked them clean – I had him hold me to his chest again. He purred happily as the soul connection was made.

“You’re doing really good, Copper.” I said, “do you think you can go upstairs?”

“You can stay down here with me,” Copper said. His speech had improved with the soul connection as well.

“I can’t stay down here, but we can both go upstairs together, okay?”

He grumbled in disagreement.

“You’ve been in this dark basement all alone for a long time, don’t you want to see the sun? Meet the others?”

Another grumble.

“How about some cinnabunnies?”

He nodded.

“Okay, we have to go upstairs to get them.”

He sighed in frustration. “You don’t get a say in this, _tiny_.”

I crossed my arms defiantly. “What, are you scared?”

He growled, making my hair stand on end. I tried to keep my face hard.

“Ya think I’m fucking scared of this place? You know where I come from, runt?”

“A place where you were starving?”

His eye narrowed.

“You had to hurt people?”

“Hehe, not always _had_ to. Sometimes I enjoyed it.”

“And you ate humans like me, right?”

“Hehe, not like you, small fry,” he gnashed his teeth and my façade fell as I jumped in fear. “I could swallow you whole. Wouldn’t even have to chew. How do you think that would go? I don’t have a stomach, would you fall through, or get absorbed by my magic?”

“Shut up!” I shouted.

[***Bonus Smut Chapter***](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18900019/chapters/70902927)

He smirked. “Now who’s scared?”

“ _I’m_ going upstairs. If you want to stay down here, be my guest.” I jumped out of his hands and landed on the table, stomping toward the edge. When I reached it, about to jump down, Copper made a choking sound and reached for me, his eye widening.

I paused.

He caught himself. “Ya gonna hurt yerself jumping off that,” he snapped, grabbing me and pulling me away.

“Why don’t you come up with me, just for a minute?” I said gently, placing my hand on his thumb. “We’ll have a cinnabunny together, and if you feel uncomfortable we’ll come back down here, okay?”

“Yeah. Fine. One cinnabun.”

* * *

He had ten before even leaving the kitchen. To my surprise we had spent the whole night dealing with Copper, the sun was coming up and I felt dizzyingly tired. The others kept their distance at my insistence, sitting in the living room and peeking in to make sure everything was okay. Copper growled whenever someone got close.

With me resting against his chest I convinced him to step outside to watch the sunrise. He became entranced by it, taking in all the colors of the sky. His eyelight shimmered, and a tear actually slipped from his socket.

“Copper, are you okay? Do you need to go inside?” I asked.

“Nah. Stayin’ out here.”

“Why don’t you lie down?”

“Yeah.” With the wind on his bones he settled into the grass, leaning against the patio.

“You’ve never seen the surface, have you?”

“No.”

I patted his finger, which rested over my lap. “Stay as long as you need.”

Eventually, with the help of the soul connection, he fell asleep, snoring and slumping against the porch. Up above, I saw Ace in his morning flight and he made a landing in front of us.

“Managed to befriend the big guy, huh?”

“Something like that.” With a great heave I pushed Copper’s finger off my body and stumbled to my feet. Ace plucked me off his chest. “Take me to my house, I’m exhausted. I can’t believe I was down there all night.”

“Yeah, we were pretty worried about you, but I guess your soul connection did the trick.” Ace carried me inside to my dollhouse. “Will he be okay out there?”

“Dunno. Need sleep,” I mumbled, stumbling into my tiny home.

“Alright, sleep well, Bunny. I’ll keep a _bird’s_ -eye on him.”

I couldn’t answer. I collapsed into bed and was out. 


	6. A Nightmare

I was having a nightmare.

I wasn’t usually a lucid dreamer, having only a couple of instances of knowing when I was dreaming, so this was a rare instance.

I was in the B&B, and I was my normal human size. Everyone was gone, and it was dark. I walked around, trying to find one of the guys, but no one could be found.

Then I heard the front door open.

Excited that someone was back, I ran to the door. It was a skeleton, but no one I knew. In fact, they weren’t like any skeleton I had ever seen. He looked like a Sans, but he was covered in a strange black slime, and had four tentacle-like appendages coming out of his back.

I stared in horror and decided I wanted to wake up. That’s when a tentacle shot out and wrapped around my body, pinning my arms down.

“No waking yet,” he said in a warbling voice. “I’m curious about what my brother is up too. This was a good place for some negative . . . delicacies, but _you_ ruined that, didn’t you?”

I didn’t answer. I couldn’t talk in my dreams, but I did whimper and struggle against his hold. The goo dripped off his tentacle, soaking into my clothes.

“Mm, that’s better. Fear. Confusion.”

I became small again, the tentacle completely wrapped around me with my head sticking out of the horrible black slime. I cried, unable to get free.

He inhaled deeply, as if breathing in a good scent. The skeleton licked his lips with a turquoise tongue. “ _Delicious.”_ He brought me closer to his face, studying me and grinning. “Unfortunately for you, that bitty soul is too much trouble.” He squeezed me tighter and my cry was cut off as my body was crushed, breath cut off, and black slime rising up over my head. “Bye bye, human.”

“Nightmare!”

The dark skeleton spun, gritting his teeth in anger as a light filled the room. His grip loosened and I sucked in air greedily. My vision spun and I couldn’t see what was happening. There was a flash of blue light, a shout of pain, and I was dropped. I hit the floor and remained on my back, just focusing on breathing sweet air. Voices were shouting, but I couldn’t understand them.

When things became quiet, I managed to catch my breath and see clearly. Yet another new skeleton looked down at me, his white eyes filled with concern. He was dressed in tones of yellow and orange, and a golden crown rested on his forehead.

“Are you okay?”

I sniffled as some tears continued their journey down my cheeks. The black goop on my body felt awful, in fact I couldn’t remember being more depressed in my life. It was like every fear and anxiety was thrusted forward in my mind and I could think of nothing else.

The skeleton reached forward and touched my cheek, stroking it gently with his fingertip. “It’s okay, you’re alright. He’s gone.”

With his touch my tears dried and my fears drifted away. The darkness of the dream faded and light came into the B&B.

“You’re Bunny, right?”

I nodded.

“I’m Dream. Ink asked me to watch over this dimension.”

I remembered. Dream put a couple of fingers under my arms and lifted me up to my feet.

“It’s just a dream, you can get that stuff off.”

Right, a dream, I was in control. With a bit of concentration, the black stuff disappeared from my body. I sighed with relief. “Who was that?” I asked, finding my voice.

“My brother, Nightmare.”

I frowned. “But . . . he’s not a Papyrus?”

Dream chuckled. “It’s a long story.”

“Will . . . Nightmare come back?”

“It’s hard to say. He’s attracted to places where there’s negative energy. He must have been feeding of this place before I got here, and your presence . . . well, you must have been making things better for everyone, that’s why he came for you.”

I shuddered and hugged my arms.

“Hey,” Dream touched my shoulder, and I found myself standing five feet tall again. I blinked, looking him in the eye. “Your greatest strength against him is a light heart, a positive thought. If you keep even a spark of hope, I can always reach you.”

“You can?”

He smiled, it was bright and reassuring, and I found myself leaning toward him, not meaning too. He took me in his arms without protest and patted my back. “Yes, as long as you don’t let the darkness overwhelm you. Keep even a little bit of light in your soul and I will come.”

“Thank you . . . and for saving me, thank you for saving me.”

“You’re doing just fine, Bunny. I know you’re scared and tired, but you’re helping in more ways than you know. Wake up now.”

I did.

Sunshine was pouring into my bedroom and I was bundled tightly in my blankets. I would have happily gone back to sleep, but the nightmare still plagued my memory, so I rose instead, feeling famished and worried about Copper.

I dressed and left my little house. To my surprise, Asy was in the living room, watching TV and coloring on a piece of paper. He noticed me and beamed.

“Bunny!”

“Asy . . . what time is it?”

“I dunno.”

“Where’s Copper? The big guy?”

“Outside, doesn’t want to come in. Except for breakfast, he ate _this much_ ,” Asy spread his arms as wide as they would go. I giggled.

“I better check on him, you good?”

“Mmhm. We should play baseball again, and have a soul hug.”

“Of course, let me step outside and get something to eat, and I’ll be right back.”

I went to the kitchen where the sliding glass door was, and I saw Copper through the window, sitting in the grass, leaning against the porch. I knocked my fist against the glass and his head immediately jerked, turning and spotting me. He stood and opened the door.

“Hey Copper, how are you?”

He hummed and swept me up. The suddenness caught me by surprise, but I didn’t complain. He pressed me to his chest and sighed, as if he had been in great pain and it finally alleviated. He went back to his seat. The grass was completely flattened there.

“Were you out here all night?”

He nodded. “Saw the stars.”

“Do you want to come inside? We can set you up with a better bedroom.”

“Nah. ‘S better out here.”

“You sure?”

“Mmhm.”

“I understand. Were you . . . underground for a long time?”

“Very long,” he murmured darkly. “Long after the food ran out and the lights disappeared. Long after the others died.”

I shuddered. “I’m so sorry.”

“Why, you do something to cause it?”

“N-no?”

“Then shut up. Sorrys are useless.”

“I just mean that I sympathize.”

“Don’t bother. M’not a good monster. Not worth sympathizing for.”

“You saved me though, you rescued me from Fell.”

“Just making sure nothing happened to my cinnabunny supplier.”

I rolled my eyes but didn’t press. He was out of the basement, and that was enough for one day.

My stomach growled.

“I’m going to go in and get some food.”

Copper held me closer to his chest.

“I’ll come back later, but I missed breakfast. I’m really hungry.”

Copper scoffed. “You don’t know hunger, runt.”

I looked up at him, meeting his eye. He stared back for a moment, then sighed. He set me down on the porch.

“Just don’t forget ‘bout me.”

“I’ll come back in just a little bit.”

He had left the door open, so I slipped inside, luckily running into Big, who was happy to help me get some food.

“We were all really worried about you,” Big said, “you were so brave to stay down there with him.”

I didn’t answer. Brave. I had been very brave these past few years, facing things at five inches that even a grown man shouldn’t have to face.

I didn’t feel brave though. I just felt tired.

I wanted to go home.

“Big, when you found me the first day I came here, I had a pink vial with me. Where is it?”

“Oh! I put it in the spice rack.” Big fetched the requested paint and handed it to me. I took it in my arms. I ate the food Big served – a piece of his sandwich – silently.

“Are you okay, Bunny?”

“I’m really tired.”

“No wonder, you were up all night.” Big studied me, tilting his head. It reminded me of Blue. I missed him and Stretch greatly, and it killed me knowing that they were still underground in their world.

Brave indeed.

I sighed and stood up.

“Do you want to take a nap?” Blue asked.

“I told Copper I would spend some more time with him. Oh, and Asy wanted–”

Big placed a finger on my shoulder, stopping me. His face looked uncharacteristically serious. “Why don’t you just sleep? Everyone’s fine, you should take care of yourself now.”

I stared at him for a moment, and then suddenly I was crying. Big looked as surprised as I felt, but he cupped his hands around me in a comforting ‘hug’. I sobbed into his thumb, tears soaking his glove.

“The soul connections are too much of a strain.”

That was Fell’s voice.

I jumped and Big scooped me up protectively. “You’re on house arrest! Go back to your room!”

Fell rolled his eyes. “I’m trying to _help_.”

“Y-you don’t help! Y-y-our awful!” I shouted at him from Big’s hands. “You taped me down! You pulled out my soul!”

Big gasped. His eyes narrowed, and he set me down, pulling himself up to his full height so that he stood a head taller than Fell, moving in on him threateningly. “You need to go back to your room, _now_.”

I never expected Big to be so threatening.

“You don’t see it, but I do. The sunken eyes, pale skin, dry lips? All the soul connections are draining her. That’s what I was trying to show her last night.”

“Your intensions don’t make what you did okay,” Big said crossing his arms. “Now, are you going back to your room, or do I have to drag you?”

Fell huffed, his pride obviously injured, but he turned and headed back upstairs.

Big then turned on me, and I couldn’t help but flinch. Everyone was so big. Everything was too much. His hands came down around me and I shrank down, letting myself be scooped up and carried away. I dropped the vial and heard it roll over the table. Big’s hands completely surrounded me in a ball. I heard Asy’s voice as we moved, but then it disappeared.

When Big’s hands parted, allowing me to fall onto a pillow, I didn’t know where I was. The room was dark. Big gently pressed my back, forcing me to lay down, and put a blanket over me.

“Sleep, Bunny, you need it.”

Sniffling softly, I did what I was told and closed my eyes.

This time, there were no dreams.


	7. The AU Voyager

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rewind is by WishingStarinaJar. Check out their writings and art (AO3, Twitter, Tumblr, etc).  
> I love Rewind but boy he hates humans.

“Hey, you awake?”

I opened my eyes and yawned. I felt my joints pop as I stretched.

“Hi.” Big looked down at me, his blue eyes shining bright. Looking around I realized that I was in his bedroom, sleeping on his pillow. “Sorry to wake you, but it’s dinnertime and you should eat.”

“Oh wow, been asleep all daaay,” I yawned.

“Just goes to show that I was right!” Big declared. “And now you must strengthen yourself with fuel!” He picked me up, and I slumped in his palms, still yawning and rubbing my eyes awake. We went downstairs where the others had gathered for dinner at the table. They all greeted me and questioned with concern.

“I’m okay,” I assured them, stepping down onto the table. Coffee passed me a bitty-sized serving of food and I smiled at him gratefully before digging in, feeling famished.

“Bun-Bun,” Asy inquired shyly, “Big Blue said you were sick?”

“Oh . . . a little, but I’m okay, Asy.”

“You can’t see Guardian anymore, he says you can’t hear him.”

I hadn’t realized it at first, but he was right. Why . . .? The soul connection, that must be it, that’s why I couldn’t see Guardian anymore.

“Don’t worry,” I patted his hand, “I’ll fix that later.”

He smiled. “Okay!”

“You sure you weren’t hurt, Bunny?” Tango asked. “Big told us what happened with Fell, and then Copper . . .”

“No, they didn’t hurt me,” I said, “stressed me out to high hell, but nothing physical. Where are Copper and Fell anyway?”

“Fell is confined to his room,” Big said dutifully.

“The big guy decided to pitch himself a tent,” Ace explained, “said he preferred being outside. Can’t blame him.”

“Well, as long as he has a roof over his head,” I said, standing up, “I better go check on him before it gets dark.”

“He should just be on the porch,” Ace said.

“Uh, Bunny,” Big stopped me before I could hop off the table, “maybe don’t do anymore soul connections for a while? I know he did a bad thing, but Fell may be right about you extenuating yourself.”

“I’ll be okay, don’t worry.”

Someone opened the door for me and I stepped out onto the porch and looked around the corner, spotting Copper. He was sitting on the porch swing, watching the sunset with sleepy eyes. I noticed that, on the other side of the swing, there was a pile of pillows and blankets. He seemed alright, so I decided to leave it be. I still needed rest.

I turned and walked the opposite way down the porch, circling the house. It was nice having some quiet, so I delayed my return inside, walking toward the garden instead. The smell of flowers on the cool evening breeze calmed me down. Copper had the right idea.

A sudden flash of golden light caught my eye. There in the hydrangeas, a portal of gold light, surrounded by 1s and 0s opened up into an oval, from which a skeleton emerged.

Oh, come _on._

In his hands was a giant pair of scissors, and most of his face was covered by a fabric mask. Part over it over his mouth (with a skeleton grin printed on it), and another over one of his eyes. He wore a blue hoodie and sweatpants similar to my Sans, but no shirt underneath, showing off his ribs and spine.

He was also wearing a red scarf. Papyrus’s scarf.

“You!” I shouted, pointing at the newcomer as he floated up out of the portal and landed in the grass. His eye landed on me and narrowed with what seemed to be a mixture of anger and confusion – it was hard to tell with so much of his face covered.

“Yeah, you, state your name and business.”

With a twirl of his hand the scissors disappeared and he stepped toward me, crossing his arms.

“The hell are you supposed to be?”

“My _name_ is Bunny and I’m the . . . caretaker of this place.”

“You?”

“Me.”

“You’re a fucking human.”

“Ah-! S-so?!”

“So, fuck you.” He stomped passed me. I balked, stumbling out of the way as his sneakers hit the porch.

“Stop!” I shouted after him, running to catch up.

Luckily, Copper heard me once again, and when I turned the corner he was standing in front of the door, glaring down at the masked stranger, who reacted appropriately, taking a big step back, eye wide.

“What are you doing here?” I demanded, running up to the two monsters. He cast me a glare, but spoke to Copper.

“I’m looking for a skeleton, not much smaller than you. Goes by Big Blue.”

“Big?” I repeated.

This time he properly looked at me. “He’s here?”

“Yeah, but–”

“Blue! Buddy, where are you?!” The new skeleton started to shout, trying to get to the door. Copper growled at his raised voice and took a menacing step toward him.

Then the newbie was gone, disappearing and reappearing on the other side of the glass door and locking it. I gasped in surprised.

“Copper, let’s go to the front door, hurry!”

Copper picked me up and ran to the other side of the house. I held on to his fingertips as we raced to the door and threw it open.

On the other side stood Big, his arms wrapped around the newbie and holding him up in a hug that left his legs dangling.

“Rewind! You found me!”

“Big. . .” The new guy – Rewind – hung limply in Big’s arms, resting his head on his shoulder with an expression of relief. “Your world was gone. I couldn’t find you anywhere . . . God, I thought . . .”

“It’s okay, I’m here, this is a safe place,” Big said setting Rewind down.

“What happened? Where’s Orange?”

Big’s face fell.

“It was Error,” I said, speaking up. Copper held me out so that Rewind could see me. “Everyone here lost their AUs.”

“Everyone . . .?” Rewind turned his head and saw that a crowd had gathered. Comet and Asy had their heads poking out from the living room. Coffee and Tango were upstairs looking down.

“Oh, everyone! this is my friend, Rewind. He used to visit my world,” Big said.

“Where are you from?” I asked.

“None of your damn business.”

“Rewind! Language! Be nice to Bunny, she’s our dear friend,” Big abashed him.

“She’s a human, Blue, you don’t know them like I do.”

“I know Bunny and she’s been taking care of all of us.”

“Thanks, Big,” I said.

“Still a fucking human.”

“Hey!”

“Language!”

Copper growled.

“Look, I just came here for Big,” Rewind said, waving everyone off, “is there somewhere private we can talk?”

“Sure,” Big led Rewind upstairs, presumably to his bedroom. I sighed and sat back in Copper’s hands. This guy was rude, but at least he wasn’t trying to hurt anyone.

I looked over my shoulder at Copper. “So, how’re you doing?”

He purred in response and lifted me to his face where I was nuzzled by a large, boney cheek. I giggled and gave him a playful shove. “You big softie. You got a bed set up outside?”

He nodded.

“And you’re comfy out there?”

He nodded again.

“Good, good.”

“You guys want to watch a movie with us?” Ace invited, “Comet was just picking something out.”

I looked up at Copper and patted his boney palm. “What do you say? Want to watch a movie?”

He hesitated, red eye darting up to the others, then down to me again.

“It’s okay, let’s go sit on the couch.”

He shuffled down the hall and squeezed through the living room door, his shoulders and head brushing the frame. The others made room, Ace sat down in a recliner and Comet sat crisscross on the floor. Copper took up nearly the entire couch as he sat down, the furniture creaking under his weight. Comet finally selected a film and we settled in. Tango joined us eventually, holding Asy by the hand. Then Coffee showed up. He was thin enough to actually sit on the couch with us, and Copper gave him a sharp look, wide eye unblinking.

“New guy is trying to talk Big into leaving with him,” Coffee said. Everyone turned their heads.

“Is Big going to go?” I asked.

“Don’t think so. Says it’s safe here, that he has to wait for his brother.”

“What else are they talking about?” Tango asked.

Coffee shrugged. “Just what happened to Big’s world. Rewind seems to know this ‘Error’ guy. Think he might go after him.”

The creak of stairs got everyone’s attention and we turned our heads to the hallway where Big and Rewind appeared. Seeing him standing next to Big made me very aware of how much smaller Rewind was, even compared to the more normal-sized skeletons.

“Oh! Big! Will your new friend like to stay the night? We still have some leftovers,” Comet said.

“Thanks,” Rewind answered, “but if Error is on the rampage then there are some other worlds that I need to check on, then I need to take that glitchy fucker down.”

A chorus of “language!” echoed through the room.

“Please be careful, remote me,” Big said, nervously, hands twitching, “I don’t want anyone else I know to get hurt.”

“Don’t worry, Big B,” Rewind took one of Big’s hands and squeezed it reassuringly. He seemed so kind looking up at his counterpart. “I’ve tangled with Error before, he’s no match for my scissors.”

That’s right, Error’s strings. I shuddered at the memory. Copper must have noticed because his fingers curled in on me.

Big pulled Rewind into a tight hug, pulling the smaller skeleton off his feet. “Safe travels, my friend.”

“I’ll come back and visit you soon, after I’ve check on some other friends of mine,” Rewind said, returning the hug, “I just need to make sure that their universes are intact.”

The others gave him a soft goodbye as well, but I turned away, deciding to ignore him. Big walked him outside, and through the window there was a flash of golden light.

“Aww,” Asy pouted.

“Don’t worry, As, he said he’d come back,” Comet said.

Asy blew a raspberry. “Guardian was trying to talk to him. Rude.”

“He was rude, Asy,” I said, “don’t pay him any mind.”

“His brother was nice though.”

“His brother?”

“Yeah, the other Papyrus. He and Guardian were trying to talk.”

Before I could ask further, Big returned, looking downtrodden.

“Aw, Big, don’t look so glum, he said he’d be back, yeah?” Ace said.

Big forced a smile. “Yeah. I’m just glad to see that he’s okay.”

“So, he can travel through other dimensions too? Like Ink?”

“Yep! He’s an ‘AU voyager’,” Big explained, “he travels and explores different worlds.”

“Wow, he’ll have to come visit all of our homes once they’re restored!” Comet said.

Big nodded. “Um, I’m going to go to my room, I’m pretty tired. Hey Bunny . . .” Big stopped himself, “oh, wait, nevermind.”

“What is it, Big?” I asked.

“No, no, you need to rest.”

“ _Big_ ,” I called him back sternly as he started to turn away. He hesitated. “Come here.”

He obeyed, walking up to Copper, who, with surprising peacefulness, let me jump into Big’s hands instead.

“Fell said you need to rest,” Big insisted.

“Just a quick connection then, to help you sleep,” I said. Big relented, smiling gratefully. He held me to his chest and we retired upstairs together.


	8. A New Housemate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TK (TimeKid) Sans is by PerfectShadow06

The next morning, Big was in better spirits and insisted on cooking breakfast together. Despite his warnings against more soul connections, I visited Asy after we ate and made a connection so that he, his brother, and I could communicate. We spent the rest of the morning together coloring and exchanging jokes. After that I went to Tango’s room and learned some new dance steps. This time no soul connection, just music and me dancing on his dresser while Tango showed me hip hop moves.

Next I checked on Coffee who was playing video games in his room. I suggested he take it downstairs, as playing with the others might be fun. He was reluctant at first, but a brief cuddle gave him the courage to invite the others in for a game. Tango accepted, and Asy was eager to join as well. The three entered a game of super smash.

I found Comet next. He was in his room looking at star maps, and I suggested that he take them to Copper and look at the stars with him that night. Comet eagerly agreed and carried me and his telescope outside so he could start setting up.

We found Copper sitting in the grass and picking flowers in the garden. I was feeling tired, but made a soul connection with him so that the two could talk more easily. Copper seemed fine letting Comet take charge though. The royal blue-cladded skeleton laid out his maps and made plans for what they would be able to see that night.

Ace spotted us and landed, offering to take me up for a flight.

“No way, last time was terrifying.”

“How about I stay low? Just a few feet off the ground?”

“Well . . . okay, but no higher than the tree line,” I said.

The second flight was much more enjoyable. Staying low I didn’t feel as scared, and I could enjoy the breeze through my hair as Ace took it slow.

“Haha! Woohoo!” I howled, holding on to the tips of Ace’s fingers, sitting on my knees in his hands as we shot forward.

Ace chuckled. “Glad you came out?”

“Yeah, this feels great!”

When we were done, I was ready for a nap, and Ace obliged by flying me to his room and carrying me back downstairs.

Once we were in the hall, however, Fell’s door opened, and the Gaster stepped out.

Ace pulled me closer and hid me behind his hand.

“I thought that was you,” Fell said. “I wish to speak to the . . . to Bunny.”

“Hell no,” I crossed my arms.

Fell took a deep breath and closed his eyes, as if reining in his patience. “I wish to . . . apologize.”

“Okay, go ahead,” I said, shrugging.

“Um . . . yes, of course. I am sorry.”

“For what?”

“For . . .” Fell sighed, “look, bit- Bunny. I understand my methods are unorthodox and . . . cruel, but you have to understand the world I came from–”

“No, I don’t,” I said firmly, “I appreciate your apology, I realize that takes a big step, but I don’t want excuses about your world. What you did was . . .” I was trembling, feeling stressed and drained. I shook my head. “I shouldn’t have to explain this to you.”

“This,” Fell pointed at me, “is what I was trying to make you realize. What I did was wrong, but my intention was to show you what the soul connections are doing to you. That’s why I pulled your soul out. It drains your energy and is making you sick.”

“How sick?” Ace interrupted.

“I can’t say as I haven’t gotten the chance to look into it,” Fell said, “hopefully it wouldn’t be too serious, but I can’t say for sure.”

“You’re not looking at my soul,” I said.

Fell sighed. “Very well. But don’t do anymore soul connections, you can see for yourself if there’s a difference.”

“ _Have_ you been feeling sick, Bunny?” Ace asked.

“A little weak,” I admitted, “and tired easily.”

“As I said.” Fell crossed his arms.

“I think it’s time you go back to your room,” Ace said, shooting him a warning look.

“Very well, but if things get worse . . . well, you know where to find me.” With that, Fell returned to his room.

I slumped. “Maybe I have been pushing myself. I’ve never done so many soul connections before.”

“Then perhaps it’s best to just take it easy for the next few days,” Ace suggested, “maybe even go back to your world for a bit?”

“I can’t . . . I mean I can, but that’s for emergencies. It’s okay, Ace, I’ll just lay low and get some rest, yeah?”

“Okay. Speaking of which, you were on your way to a nap.”

Ace carried me downstairs to my dollhouse. The others were taking a break from the game and had the TV on. Coffee was reading a manga with Asy looking at it wide-eyed over his shoulder and whispering questions. Coffee didn’t seem to mind.

“No, he’s not turning into a robot, there’s a portal in his head that the robots are coming out of,” Coffee said.

“Ouch!” Asy winced.

Ace set me down at my front door and I happily stepped inside, shutting out the sounds of the TV as I went to my bedroom, admiring the décor as I walked passed. After a shower I settled into my bed, grabbing a book from the library.

I immediately felt better after lying down. Fell must be right, all the soul connections were draining me. Either that or having to take care of all these skeletons was just too stressful. Either way, Ace was right, it was time for a break.

“Hmm . . .” I stared at my cards. A 17, always a hard one in Black Jack. I looked up at Tango, who was the dealer, he had an 8 of hearts. If he got a face card I was screwed anyway.

“Okay, hit me,” I said.

Tango laid down a 3.

“Yes!” I punched the air. “Twenty! I stand.”

“But you’re sitting, and no one has hit you yet,” Ace grinned.

“Ace, I swear to god, if you make that joke one more time . . .”

“I’ll take a hit,” Coffee interrupted. Tango laid down a card, giving him a 19.

Asy stared at his cards, mouth twisted up in concentration. “Go fish?”

Coffee looked over his shoulder, but Asy hid his cards. “No cheating!”

“Relax, Asy, you just gotta beat the dealer, you don’t have to worry about me cheating. Anyway, you’ve got 19, so you should probably stand.”

“No way! Hit!” Asy slapped his hand on the table.

Tango laid down a 2.

“Oh come on!” I flipped my cards as if I was flipping a table. Tango laid out his own cards until he got to 22.

“Dealer busts, Asy wins.”

“Yay!” Asy cheered and grabbed the pile of chocolate coins that had been placed in the middle of the table. Ace gathered up the cards, taking over as dealer. “Twos are up, eights are wild, and jacks are jacks.”

“Nothing you said makes any sense,” Coffee said.

“We may have to try something with no gambling next,” I said, “I only have two measly coins left.”

“Yeah, and Asy’s going through them pretty fast,” Tango said. We looked over at the smaller skeleton who was unwrapping candy and shoving it in his mouth, leaving chocolate stains on his teeth.

“How about Pig’s Tail?” Ace suggested, setting the cards down and fanning them out into an almost perfect circle. “No using the cards you get.”

“Hehehe,” Asy giggled. He twisted up his face and snorted through his nose, making a convincing oink noise.

I shrieked with laughter and fell over, holding my sides. Asy blushed and patted his hands on the table, the others chuckled in as well, only making me laugh harder.

“Oh gods, I can’t breathe,” I gasped, taking a breath before falling into another bout of laughter.

Ace shook his head and picked up my shaking body. “Come on, Bun, let’s get some air. Be right back, guys.”

The others waived us off as Ace stepped outside. In the fresh air and sunshine I was finally able to catch my breath.

“Whew, thanks, Ace. That was hurting my ribs.”

“I needed to stretch my wings anyway,” he said, spreading his feathers.

Suddenly, a flash of light caught our eyes. I turned and spotted a portal in the air above the garden. “Oh, come on, what now?”

“Should we check it out?”

“Yeah, let’s go see what fresh new nonsense the world has thrown at us this time.”

“Looks like it’s going to come to us.” Ace set me on the porch railing as we watched two new monsters walk toward us, having come out of the portal. I recognized them both, in a way, but they were completely different from the versions I had met before.

One of them was Grillby, a Grillby with beautiful blue flames dancing around his head, wearing a gold and blue vest with star cufflinks. The other one was holding Grillby’s hand, and he was tiny. He seemed to be a Sans, but a very young one, wearing goggles, a light blue jacket, and high-top sneakers.

“Well, damn,” Ace said.

“Is that . . .?”

“That’s a kid Sans, he can’t be more than ten.”

“No way . . .”

The tiny Sans waved to us and guided the Grillby closer. The fire monster seemed unsure and nervous.

“Hi there,” Ace greeted them.

“Hi,” the Sans answered, “don’t worry, I’m a friend of Ink’s. I found this Grillby separated from his AU, but his Papyrus is here, they’re from the same world.”

I couldn’t stop staring at the fire, it danced with a purple and orange glow, and his eyes studied us shyly behind a thin pair of spectacles.

“Hi, Grillby,” I said gently, holding out my hand. He looked down at me in surprise, then took my tiny hand in his fingers and gave it a shake. “I’m Bunny.”

“Oh! You’re Bunny! Ink told me about you,” the kid said, beaming, “I’ve been around, but never met a bitty human before. Call me TK.” He held out his hand and I gave his index finger a shake.

“You’re an . . . ‘AU voyager’?” I asked, using the term Big used for Rewind.

“I guess I am, though time travel is a bit more my forte.”

“ . . . what?”

“Anyway, I’ve been helping Ink with these AU attacks and I found Grillby here stuck in the void. See Grillbs? I told you this was a safe place.”

Grillby nodded quietly.

“Um, you’re actually the only fire monster here,” I said, “but everyone goes by a nickname. Would you like one too? Or just want to stick to Grillby?”

He shrugged.

“We could call him ‘Srillby’,” Ace joked, “like ‘space Grillby’.”

“Or ‘Chillby’, because his fire is blue,” I said.

“Nice one,” TK said.

“There are . . . other colors of flame?” the fire monster asked. His voice reminded me of the Grillby from my world, kind of floaty, the way I imaged fire _would_ sound like.

“Yep, just like the stars,” TK said.

“You know what might make you feel at home?” Ace snapped his fingers, “we have a really nice kitchen, how about I show you?”

Chillby nodded and followed Ace, becoming startled when he turned and revealed his wings.

“Here, let’s find Comet, okay? That’s your Papyrus’s nickname . . .”

TK put his elbow on the railing next to me and leaned against it casually. “So, how are things going here?”

“Good, actually. Well, as good as an be expected. We’ve had some unexpected visitors and some head butting but everyone is safe and healthy.”

“Things haven’t been going so well on the other side, Ink still hasn’t been able to track down Error.”

“Damn,” I sighed and sank down to a sitting position. “What about restoring the AUs? Is there any luck with that?”

“I don’t know, sorry,” TK said, “we won’t really know until we find out what Error did with the code.”

“Code?”

“It’s complicated,” TK said, waving his hand.

I stared at him. “How . . . old are you? You’re a Sans, right?”

“Yep, I’m twelve years old. Never met a kid Sans, huh?”

“No. And you travel through AUs? And fight _Error_? That can’t be safe! Ink just lets you-?”

“Hey, I’m pretty powerful,” TK said with a wink. Blue light appeared underneath him, and I looked down, barely catching a glimpse of a strange portal covered in lines and numbers, before he slipped into it and disappeared.

I jumped up. “TK?”

The portal reappeared above me, and TK fell through, landing feet first back where he started. He spread his arms wide. “Ta da!”

I couldn’t help but chuckle. He looked like Sans, but his big eyelights and the slight pudge to his cheeks were so cute compared to his adult counterparts.

“But seriously, don’t worry about me, I’m just running recon.”

That made sense, after all, how many monsters could move through universes? No doubt Ink needed all the help he could get.

“Do you want to hang around?” I asked, “it’s almost lunch time.”

“Sure! I’m starving, do you have burgers?” TK held his arm out to me, as if offering his elbow to a lady. I hopped on and climbed to his shoulder.

We entered the kitchen where Comet had ‘Chillby’ in a tight hug, tears running down his skull. The others were gathering as well to meet the new housemate. Chillby seemed overwhelmed, but took it in stride.

TK stepped in and took a seat on one of the stools at the kitchen island.

Everyone stopped and stared.

“Tiny brother!” Comet cried out.

“Hiya, Paps,” TK gave him a friendly wave. Comet gathered him up under the arms and lifted him up to eye level. I grabbed his jacket and held on tight.

“Look at you! You’re just like . . .” Comet hesitated, and I noticed that there was a slight tremor to his grip. He quickly set TK down and turned away. “I just remembered! I have an important appointment! In my room! Can’t put it off any longer!” Then he was running away.

Coffee looked a bit uncomfortable too, staring at TK and rubbing his shoulder.

“Heh, sure is weird seeing a mini-me,” Tango said, patting TK’s head.

“Why don’t I . . . cook something?” Chillby offered.

“You don’t have to do that!” Big said, “you just got here, you should relax.”

“Actually, it would be nice to do something. Was in the void . . . for a while.” With that he went to work pulling out pans. The rest of us exchanged looks, shrugged and migrated into the living room to give him space. Coffee stayed behind, sitting at the kitchen island to watch the fire monster work.

“Do you think Comet’s alright?” I asked Tango.

“Seeing TK must have upset him,” Tango answered.

“Maybe I should go check on him then. Will you give me a lift?”

Tango obliged, plucking me off TK’s shoulder and carrying me upstairs. I assured the others we’d be right back.

Upstairs, in front of Comet’s glittery door, Tango knocked. The alternate Papyrus’s voice answered, sounding strained.

“It’s me, Bunny,” I called.

A moment of hesitation, then the door opened. Comet stood with a blanket over his face. “Hello friends! I just needed to clean my face, can’t have a dirty skull! Nothing to worry about!”

“Can I come in?”

“Of course,” Comet held out his hand and I hopped onto it. Tango gave me a nod and shut the door for us.

“Seeing TK kind of shocked you, huh?”

“I don’t know what you mean!”

“Comet . . . Papyrus, it’s okay. Why don’t you put the blanket down?”

Comet shuddered and lowered the fabric. As I expected, his face was streaked with tears.

“Hold me to your chest, Papyrus.”

“You’re not supposed to have soul connections, Ace said so,” Comet said.

“It’s okay, just a little one.”

He complied and cupped me against his shirt. I took a deep breath as the connection was made, and Comet broke down, letting out a soft sob. He sank onto the bed and bowed his head, holding me tighter as his hands started to shake.

“It’s okay,” I whispered, patting his finger, “deep breaths. It’s okay.” I reached up and touched his chin. His tears fell on me, dampening my shirt.

“I miss him, Bunny,” his voice warbled, “I miss my brother.”

He lowered his head into my tiny arms and I held him as best I could, putting my small arms around his chin and pressing my head to his teeth.

“It’s okay, baby. Let it all out.”

He did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And this is the point in the story where I officially had too many characters.


	9. Calling His Bluff

It was a blessing having Chillby join the brood. He practically lived in the kitchen, cooking up dinner that night, and breakfast the next morning. Everyone devoured the professionally-cooked meals, even TK stuck around to enjoy the food.

Coffee in particular seemed to enjoy the fire monster’s company. While he cooked, Coffee sat at the island with a cup of his namesake, just watching.

“So you don’t have any news, then?” I sat on TK’s shoulder the next day as we walked through the garden, finally convincing the others to give us some space to talk. The only one who didn’t was Copper, he sat on the porch, watching us.

“Sorry. We’ve been hunting all over the multiverse, but we don’t know where Error went into hiding.”

“Do you even know why he attacked those AUs?”

“He’s unstable, anything could have set him off.” TK shrugged.

“Well, I was hoping you could help me then. Since we don’t know when everyone will get back home could you take me to my universe? I need to see my friends and let them know I’m okay.”

“How about you stay there permanently?”

The voice sent a jolt of ice down my spine, and I immediately recognized it as the one from my nightmare.

TK spun around just as a pair of tentacles came up from the ground and grabbed his legs. I jumped into action, leaping from his shoulder and hitting the ground. I rolled and got up again, running toward the house, but another tentacle caught me, wrapping around my arms and lifting me up off my feet. I struggled as the grip tightened, and dark intrusive thoughts entered my mind.

_You can’t reach them anyway, you’re too small. You can’t help anyone, and look at you now, trying to run away from your responsibility._

Nightmare stood before us, grin fixed on his tar-black face.

“Heh, no need for the formal invite, Nightmare,” TK said, motioning to his legs, “we’re happy to join your party.”

“That’s the trouble,” Nightmare said, “too much happy going on here.”

“Aw, too feel-good for your cold dead heart?” 

“Got to have a heart to start with,” Nightmare stepped forward looking down at the smaller skeleton, who took it in stride, hands in his pockets, smile unwavering.

“So here’s the deal, take the bitty away from here, for good, and I don’t tell Error where you’re hiding your little refugees.”

“What’s wrong, Nightmare? A little human too much for you?”

“Your desperate throw-aways could connect with a potted plant, so you either get rid of the bitty and let a little misery settle in, or I just get a big dose when glitchy shows up. Of course . . .”

The tentacle around me tightened and I gasped in pain. TK’s gaze turned toward me and a bead of nervous sweat appeared on his head.

“ . . . I could always just kill her here and now. _That_ would be a delicious dose of sorrow.”

“T-!” I tried to call out, but the tentacle wound up to my head, covering my mouth.

A thunderous growl interrupted the exchange, I looked up with a spark of hope as Cooper appeared, standing over Nightmare with menace in his eyes.

A spark of hope. That’s it . . .

Cooper raised his giant, clawed hand to bring it down on Nightmare, but the black-coated skeleton shot another tentacle out, grabbing his wrist. A forth one sprouted from his back and wrapped around Copper’s neck, forcing him down to his knees.

I closed my eyes and pictured the faces of the ones I loved, pulled to mind any happy memory I had. It wasn’t easy, my mind sank easily into the depression. Each thought veered left to the dark side of each memory.

Ice skating with Blue . . .

_He’s gone._

Christmas with my friends.

_They all left you_.

Going back to school.

_People tried to kill you_.

I was loved.

_That’s just a silly –_

Blue arrows came flying from the sky, each hitting a tentacle and setting us free. I fell into the grass and was quickly swept up by Copper who cupped his hands around me in a protective shell.

“That’s enough, Nightmare!” Dream appeared, flying down from the sky and landing in front of TK. He drew his bow and arrow, aiming it at his counterpart’s head. Nightmare snarled, curling his black ‘lips’ over his teeth.

“My threat still stands, the bitty leaves, or Error comes. Make sure she’s gone by tonight.” He liquified and slipped into a blackened puddle at his feet, disappearing. Copper growled after him.

“Is everyone alright?” Dream asked, “TK? Bunny?”

“I’m okay,” I called from between Copper’s fingers. The giant held me to his chest.

“Fine and dandy,” TK reported, “not sure what to do about this though, should I take Bunny back home?”

“I’d rather not give in to Nightmare’s demands. With Bunny gone he’ll no doubt wreak as much sadness on this place as possible.”

“What do we do then?”

“Go find Ink and tell him what happened,” Dream said. “I’ll stay here and keep an eye on things.”

“Alright, back in a jiff,” TK winked at me, and in a flash of light, a portal appeared at his feet and he disappeared.

“I’m okay, Copper,” I said, patting the giant’s palm, “Nightmare is gone.”

Copper relented, opening his hands so that I could sit up. Dream walked up to us, his golden eyes shining. Just having him near filled me with hope and determination.

“Thank goodness you showed up,” I said, “thank you.”

“I told you, a spark of hope, and I’ll always find you.” he smiled brightly. Copper stepped forward and studied the sublime skeleton, his one red eyelight widening like a cat’s pupil.

“Let’s get back inside, we need to tell the others what’s going on,” I instructed.

* * *

A house meeting was called. Ace flew through the house gathering everyone up, and they all met outside on the porch. Chillby and Comet stuck together, with Tango next to them. Ace sat on the roof looking down, Coffee stuck with Big, Asy sat in the grass, playing with dirt, and even Fell had been let out of his room, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. I sat in Copper’s hands, while Dream addressed the group.

“ . . . as soon as TK gets back with Ink we’ll know more,” Dream finished his explanation of our current predicament.”

“Can we go to a different world?” Big asked.

“Possibly. There’s the Omegaverse, and some empty worlds we can take you to, but ultimately, it’s up to Ink.”

“Why?” Fell frowned.

“Protecting the multiverse is his job,” Dream explained, “he knows the most about it.”

“So why dump us all in this one spot in the first place?” Fell continued.

“Because –”

“Because sending a bunch of lost skeletons into the multiverse could have devastating consequences!” The cheerful voice of Ink cut off the meeting, and we all looked up to see the unique skeleton appear in a rain of yellow paint. Everyone jumped up, dodging the colorful splatter. Ink landed triumphantly, giant paintbrush on his shoulder and eyes bright with a green triangle and a yellow diamond.

“I heard Nightmare knows where Error is!” Ink said, “that’s great news!”

“Yeah, except he’s threatened all of us with it,” Fell said.

“I can go home,” I said, “I know it’s not ideal, but if it keeps everyone safe . . .”

Ink shot out his hand, holding a bony finger up to cut me off. “You’re not going anywhere. I say, we call his bluff.” Ink clasped his hands excitedly, a wicked grin on his face.

“What? _Let_ him bring Error here?” Tango asked.

“Exactly!”

“Are you crazy?” Coffee went stiff and actually hugged Big’s arm in fear.

“You can’t bring him here, he’ll destroy this place!” Comet grabbed Chillby’s hand.

Asy started to tremble, his eyelights going fuzzy, “No, no, no, nononono . . .”

Ace dropped down from the roof, parachuting with his wings, and put an arm around his smaller counterpart. “Easy, bud, you’re okay.”

“Ink, you can’t bring Error here, it’s too dangerous,” I spoke up, standing.

“But this is the best lead I’ve had!” Ink protested, “I can’t find him anywhere, and if I don’t find him none of you get home.”

The others fell silent.

“Besides, this time we’ll be ready for him! Me, TK, and Dream!”

“We can’t take that chance,” Fell said.

“I agree, if you’re going to take him on, you need more help,” I said.

“From who?”

I smiled and looked at Big. “Rewind.”

Big blinked, then beamed, “you’re right! He’s never lost a fight to Error, he’s got the scissors!”

“Where can we find this ‘Rewind’?” Ink asked.

“I know where he’ll be,” Big said confidently.

Ink nodded. “Tonight then, I’ll be back with Rewind, and we’ll finally bring an end to this.”

“Hold on, Ink,” I called him back before he could run off again. I crossed my arms and gave him a serious look. “I agreed to come here and help everyone, and I’ve done that, but now you’re basically asking me to be live bait, and I want something in return.”

Ink frowned. “Like what?”

“We can talk about it more later, right now I just want your word that you’ll do everything in your power to make it happen.”

“Uhh, well, okay, yeah I’ll try.”

“Okay, good. Go find Rewind. The rest of us,” I turned to the group, “need to prepare.”

* * *

The rest of the day was spent doing so. We decided that Dream, Ace, and I would meet Nightmare when he came back that evening, after that, since we didn’t know when Error would appear, we would hide out in the woods.

“TK will keep watch on top of the B&B,” Dream said, “If things go south he’ll teleport to your hiding space and get everyone evacuated.”

“We’ll go to my universe and reconvene there,” I said, “if things don’t work out.”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine,” Dream said, “Nightmare might just be lying about Error, and if that’s the case I’ll drive him away from here.”

“If he’s not, Ace and I will retreat into the woods, and Dream, Ink, and Rewind will wait to ambush Error when he comes,” I said, “all clear?”

The group of skulls gathered around the dining table all nodded, except for Fell who just looked annoyed.

“Okay, everyone, go pack an emergency bag and we’ll stake out a hiding spot,” Dream said, standing.

The others solemnly headed toward their rooms to do so, except for Asy who stayed at the table, looking forlorn, chin resting on the tabletop. Guardian sat at his side, rubbing his shoulder. I walked over the table toward them. “Everything okay, guys?”

“ _Just nervous,”_ Guardian said, giving his brother a fond pat.

“Aw, it’s okay, Asy,” I said touching one of his fingers, “everything’s going to be just fine.”

“I think I need another Band-Aid,” Asy murmured.

“I think we used them all.”

Guardian smiled and produced a bright yellow bandage covered in suns. “ _I saved one_.”

I placed it over the bridge of Asy’s nose, and the skeleton smiled.

“Better?” I asked.

“Yeah!”

I planted a kiss on the tip of his nose, resulting in a pink blush over his cheeks. “Come on, buddy, let’s get ready for a hike.”


	10. Big and Small

Ace had staked out a nice spot in the woods were the gang could lay low. The trees offered protection, and the landscape was like an ideal park with sunshine falling through the leaves, and little animals running around.

“You think Ink overdid it with the wildlife?” Tango commented as a bunny approached his feet, looking up at him with too-big eyes.

“Yeah, something tells me he doesn’t know what actual animals are like,” I said watching a squirrel climb up onto Copper’s shoulder. The giant skeleton growled. Asy laughed and started chasing after the rabbit, wrapping it up in his arms.

Coffee took a seat and pulled out a deck of cards. Chillby set own a backpack he had filled with snacks and started laying food out. The others made themselves comfortable as well.

“Alright, Ace and I will go meet up with Dream,” I said, patting the shoulder of the skeleton I was riding on. “Ready?”

Ace lowered his goggles, “and ‘rearin’” He spread his wings and shot up into the sky. I cast one last look down at the others, heart heavy.

It was going to be okay.

It _had_ to be okay.

* * *

Dream was waiting back at the house. Ace landed next to him, and I released my grip on his jacket, hopping over to Dream instead.

“I’ll head up top,” Ace said, “TK already there?”

“Yeah, he’s waiting in your room,” Dream said, taking me in his hands. Being close to him filled me with hope and positivity.

“Alright, we’ll keep our eyes peeled. Good luck.” Ace gave me a wink, then with a great flap of his wings, he shot into the sky and turned toward the B&B, flying into his room.

I took a deep breath, looking out at the horizon where the sun was going down. “So, what’s the story with you and your brother?” I asked, “you guys are like yin and yang.”

“It’s a long story, and not typical of the other universes you know about,” Dream said, “lots of apples.”

“Apples?”

“Oh yes, and they were _delicious_.”

We both jumped at the sound of Nightmare’s voice, turning to find him standing behind us. I went rigid and Dream held me closer.

“So, I see you decided not to take my deal, poor choice.”

“It’s time for you to go, Night,” Dream said, “you can’t take advantage of this universe anymore, so just move on.”

“Once again, that hope will be your undoing, _brother_ ,” Nightmare spat out the last word like bile. “You hope that I’ll leave, hope I’m bluffing about Error, hope everything will just work out. Well bad news, kids . . .” Nightmare’s grin stretched wide and his tentacles curled up menacingly. “There’s no more hope.”

Nightmare’s appendage shot down to the ground, opening up a hole of black. From that hole, blue strings shot out, hooking onto the grass and nearby tree branches, and Error rose from the shadows.

Seeing the black-boned skeleton triggered the horrible memory of the last time we met, being stomped on and almost killed. My breath became haggard and my body started to tremble. Dream tightened his grip on me, and I focused on his essence.

I was strong, I was brave.

There _was_ hope.

Error took us in with angry eyes, the blue streaks ran down his cheeks like tear tracks, and his jacket whipped around his body by the breeze from the portal.

“So, this is where the trash took itself out,” he growled. His gaze found me. “Damn glitch.”

I stood up in Dream’s palms, glaring back at him. “That’s right, and I’m not letting you hurt anyone here!”

Error barked out a humorless laugh. “I’ll crush you, insolent bug.” With that promise, Error shot out his hands and sent a wave of blue strings into the air, but they didn’t come for us. They shot over our heads.

I turned and saw that Error had snagged TK and Ace. The kid had his arms bound to his sides, hanging upside down from the B&B window, and Ace’s wings were tangled, causing him to fall to the ground.

“No!” I shouted.

“Get out of here, Bunny!” Dream quickly set me on the ground and summoned his bow and arrow, taking aim. I took off running through the grass, pushing through to reach Ace. Being so small, the lawn was like a jungle, and the blades of grass left cuts on my legs.

Over my shoulder I heard the sounds of a battle as Dream fired his arrows at Error and Nightmare. A quick glance showed me that the yard was already covered in bone attacks, I had to hurry.

Stumbling and flailing my arms, I made it to Ace, who was fighting against his bonds. “I’m coming!” I called to him, “I’ll get you free!”

“Guess this isn’t a good time for a nap then,” Ace chuckled weakly around a nervous smile.

I grabbed a blue string and pulled, biting at it with my teeth.

“Trying to get some flossing in, eh?”

“Ace . . .”

“Dental health is important.”

I sighed and dropped the bind. “Hold still, I’ll climb up and–”

“Bunny, dodge!”

I screamed and tried to do what he said, but in my panic I wasn’t able to escape the blue strings that suddenly encased me. I screamed as I was yanked away from Ace and pulled through the air. The strings looped up over a tree branch, leaving me suspended in front of Error’s face. I desperately looked around for help, but Dream was caught up in his battle with Nightmare, unable to get past the goopy monster’s writhing tentacles.

“I’m tired of you getting in my way,” Error snarled, summoning a jagged red bone in his hand, “you’re not getting away this time!” He raised the bone over his head.

I screamed.

Suddenly a hand closed around me and yanked me out of the way as the sharp bone came down, hitting the air where I once hanged. I saw a flash of scissor blades, then the strings holding me fell away.

Scissors . . .?

I looked over my shoulder at the skeleton who held me.

“Rewind!”

“Ugh,” He made a face, “don’t get used to it.”

“You!” Error gritted his teeth.

“Snip, snip, bitch,” Rewind said, pointing the oversized scissors.

Error unleashed an angry yell and lunged forward, swinging his bone weapon. To my horror, Rewind didn’t move.

“Watch out!” I cried, flinching as Error fell upon us.

Then he froze.

I blinked in surprise, looking up at the skeleton suspended in the air, furious red eyes unblinking.

“What the . . .?”

“Pause button,” Rewind said turning from Error and running toward Ace, “little trick up my sleeve.” When he reached the winged Sans he cut him free and dropped me next to him. “Get to the others and get out of here.”

“TK’s still up there,” I said pointing to where the kid was dangling.

“Shit,” Rewind said. Our time was up. The world suddenly came back to life, resulting in a couple of very confused skeletons. Ace, realizing he was free, spread his wings.

“Get me up top, fly-boy,” Rewind ordered, pointing at TK.

I looked around, expecting Error to be coming after us, but the arrival of Rewind meant Ink was here as well, and the AU protector was upon his counterpart, drawing his attention away from us.

Ace put his hands under Rewind’s arms and flapped his wings, lifting them up into the sky. I watched them ascent, Rewind wielding his scissors to free TK. I looked back toward the other two fights, feeling exposed. I had to get out of the way and wait for Ace to get back.

I struggled through the grass once again, heading for the B&B porch. I heard footsteps approach me and turned fearfully.

It was Asy. My mouth dropped. “Asy! What are you doing here?!”

His expression was uncharacteristically somber. “You were in danger, Guardian said . . .”

“We got to get back to the others,” I said, running up to him. Asy reached down to pick me up, but was thwarted when new wave of strings suddenly appeared, binding his arms down.

I looked up in horror. Error was there, behind him Ink was tied up and hanging from a tree, looking dazed.

“Let him go!” I screamed. Error yanked the strings, pulling Asy to the ground. The poor skeleton was shaking, eyes unfocused.

“Too many got away,” Error growled, pulling Asy closer, “not this time.”

“No!” I ran forward, not knowing what to do. I went for Error’s ankle, and he kicked me away, his foot striking my body and sending me flying. I cried out in pain as I hit the ground, fresh bruises blossoming over my back. I pushed myself up, watching as Error summoned a bone in his hand and raised it above Asy’s helpless form.

No.

_No_.

Not Asy.

Not _anyone._

I was running.

My soul had connected with every skeleton. I couldn’t let anything happen to them.

I had promised.

I reached Asy as the bone came down.

No more.

I threw myself forward.

I wasn’t giving up!

The bone struck, and pain lit up the back of my shoulder. I looked down at Asy, arms on either side of his head, shielding his body with mine.

Asy’s eyes widened. “Bunny, you’re . . .!”

“Big,” I finished, looking up to glare at Error. My transformation caught the glitching skeleton by surprise, and he stumbled back, the bone dissipating from my wound. I picked myself up, feeling blooding running down from the wound in my back and soaking my shirt. I raised a fist and advanced on Error, taking a swing with my good arm.

In a flash of teleportation he dodged. I could feel the power coursing through me. So many years of growing and shrinking, my will power had had enough.

Now it was my decision.

With merely the desire to do so, I shrank down and ran between Error’s feet. In another instant I shot up to my full size, pointing my fist up and nailing Error under the chin with a hard upper cut. Error winced in pain and fell backward.

Then the cavalry arrived.

TK appeared in a burst of light from a portal he conjured on the ground. Ace flew in, dropping Rewind, who cut Asy free. I gathered Asy up in my arms, holding him tight.

“Where the hell have you been hiding _that_ trick?” Rewind asked accusingly.

“It literally just happened!” I picked Asy up as he put his arms around my neck. The other skeletons surrounded Error and Rewind jogged over to Ink to set him free.

But Error wasn’t done.

Reaching for his eye sockets, he withdrew two handfuls of more strings and sent them flying through the air. I shrank myself, dropping Asy but dodging the strings. Ace summoned up a wall of bones to shield himself, but TK wasn’t quick enough, one of the strings snagged his soul and his eyesockets went dark.

“Asy, remember when we played baseball?”

“Yeah?”

“Throw me like a ball, buddy.”

“W-where?”

“At Error!”

Asy picked me up, drew his hand back, and did as I told him.

I screamed as I went flying through the air, folding my arms and legs into myself as I soared. As I reached Error I willed myself back to tallness and landed squarely on his body. We both fell to the ground. I seized his collarbone so that he couldn’t teleport away.

“No more!” I yelled, lifting him up and slamming him against the ground. “Give it back! Give them back their worlds!”

A hand rested on my shoulder and I looked up to see Ink, smiling at me casually. I realized my hands were shaking and eyes unblinking.

“Get this human off of me, Ink!” Error snarled.

“Sorry, Error,” Ink shrugged, “you broke the truce, she gets to beat you up.”

“I didn’t break the truce because I didn’t destroy those worlds!” Error snapped.

Ink beamed. “Oh! So, you just stole the code? I was hoping that was the case.”

“Why?!” I demanded, “All these monsters, they lost their homes, their brothers! Why?!”

“Get off me!”

Gritting my teeth, I raised my hand to land a punch on his deplorable face, but someone stopped me.

“Asy?” I looked at him in surprise. He looked at me sadly and shook his head, reaching for me in a hug.

I heaved a deep sigh and released Error so that I could hug Asy instead. I picked him up and held him to me close. “Are you okay?”

“Mmhm,” he nodded against my neck.

“We’ll let Ink take care of him, let’s go get the others. It’s time we get them home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Go ahead and make your Antman jokes, I deserve it.


	11. Summer Vacation (For Real This Time)

“So, you never figured out why Error did it?” G asked.

“Ink said it was all very complicated multiverse stuff and that I was better off not knowing,” I said, taking a long drink of my coffee, “and, honestly, I’m fine with that, all that matters is that the universes were restored.”

G nodded in agreement.

“And you’re back home!” Papyrus said happily from the stove where he was cooking dinner.

I smiled. It was definitely a relief to be home. I hugged my coffee mug to warm my hands, and took another swallow.

“Don’t miss having a house full of skeletons again?” Sans joked.

“I’ll miss them of course,” I said, thinking back on our final farewells.

* * *

“Big, you’re crushing me . . .”

“I’m sorry, human! I’ll just miss you so much! And I can actually hug you now!”

I chuckled and patted his large shoulder. “I’ll miss you too, Big.”

He finally set me down and I was able to take a full breath. Tango gave me a gentle punch to the shoulder.

“Keep working on your footwork, kid.”

“I will,” I promised, “thanks for all the lessons.”

“Can I interest you in one more flight?” Ace teased from the top of a tree. We were all gathered in the garden where Ink, TK, and Dream were working together to reset the worlds’ code and send everyone back. Rewind had stuck around as well.

“I’m good, after that last curveball Asy threw me,” I winked at the skeleton who was still koalaed around my body, “I need a break from being airborne.”

Asy nuzzled his face into my chest and I planted a kiss on his head. “You gonna be okay?”

“Mmhm. Guardian says were going to see our friends again.”

“You got people taking care of you back in your world?”

“Yeah, Frisk always brings me Band-aids.”

“Good.”

I felt a weight on my head and arms wrap around us. I tilted my eyes and was surprised to see Coffee hanging on me. “Hey, man.”

He gave me a squeeze. I set Asy down and turned in Coffee’s arms so that I could hug him back, wrapping my arms around his ribs. “Take care of yourself, alright?”

He nodded. Before he could pull away we were both suddenly crushed together as Comet came barreling into us, lifting both of us off the ground in a group hug.

“We’re going home! I’m so excited!”

I laughed as we were set back down and Comet ran off to say goodbye to the others. Chillby exchanged a handshake with me, and Fell, ever the socialite, remained on the sidelines. I considered giving him a goodbye as well, but let it be. It wasn’t worth it.

A growl caught my attention and I smiled up at Copper.

“Hey, big guy,” I said. He chuffed and lifted a large finger to my cheek. “How about one last soul connection?” Taking his hand, I took a deep breath and willed myself to smallness. In the next moment I was sitting in his palm, being held to his chest. As our souls connected, he found his voice.

“G-gonna stay here,” he rumbled.

I blinked in surprise. “In this pocket dimension?”

“Mmhm. Will you help me . . . talk to Ink?” He stroked my hair with the large point of his claw. “Can’t go back to the underground.”

“Yeah, let’s go talk to him,” I agreed eagerly.

We pulled Ink from his conversation with the others and explained our proposition. He was apprehensive at first, but intrigued.

“Hmm, I guess it’s not a _bad_ idea, but you wouldn’t be able to finish your story, Copper.”

“Don’t care,” Copper growled, “the underground is empty. I want to stay here in the sun.”

“Copper could be the caretaker of this place,” I suggested, “in case you ever need to use it again, he could protect anyone who needs to stay here.”

Ink grinned. “Humans got to help, don’t they?”

“Your words, not mine,” I smiled.

“Alright. We’ll give it a trial run, see how things work out.”

I beamed and patted Copper’s hand. He purred. Mission accomplished, I hopped off of his hand and burst into my full size before my feet hit the ground.

“Ink, I think we’re ready to give it a go,” TK said.

“Ready to head home, Bunny?”

“Absolutely. But when you’re done don’t forget to come back to my universe. You still owe me a favor.”

* * *

“What’s the favor?” Sans asked. Both Papyrus and G looked inquisitively as well.

I drained the last of my coffee, fuel for the rest of the day. “I’m calling on some old friends.”

Before I could explain more, when all heard the unmistakable _splash_ sound of one of Ink’s portals in the other room.

“That’s my cue,” I said, standing up, “I’ll be right back.”

“Be careful, Bun.”

“Always.”

* * *

“I’m really not allowed to interfere with AUs like this,” Ink said, a slight pout on his face.

“Error and I already interfered with it, we need to put things right,” I insisted, “no more resets or murder. I want them back on the surface.” I peeked out again, heart hammering at the sight of my boys.

Blue and Stretch were conversing with each other in front of a sentry station. Stretch chuckling at what was no doubt a bad pun, and Blue stomping his foot in irritation. I wanted so bad to run up and see them, but Ink warned that he didn’t want us to be seen.

“You know, not everything has a happy ending,” he said, fiddling with the bristles of his giant brush.

I smiled. “Guess it’s a human thing, huh?”

Ink smirked. “You have no idea how ironic that statement is.”

“How so?”

“Never mind. So . . . get them to the surface without resets, murder, and without them knowing it was us. That’s a tall order, Bunny.”

“Don’t talk to me about tall orders, Ink.”

“Alright, alright. It’s tricky, but I think I have an idea.”

“Let’s do it.”

* * *

“Bunny! Guess what?!”

Blue was so excited he could barely keep the camera still as we video chatted. It was hard to hide my smile. “What’s up, Blue?”

“We made it to the surface!”

I beamed, close to tears as Blue panned out, revealing the sun and sky behind him. “I’m so happy for you,” I said, wiping my eyes, “how did you do it?’

“It was the strangest thing, everyone in the Underground got an invitation to go to the castle, and when we got there our hearts and souls combined as one to finally break the barrier!”

“Totally random,” Stretch’s voice cut in. The tall skeleton rested his head on his brother’s winking at me.

“That is so crazy,” I said.

“I guess someone was really looking out for us.”

“As long as you’re free that’s all that matters, right?” I winked back.

“Papy, get off!” Blue took over the call again, telling me everything about the surface world that he had seen so far. I listened with a light, happy heart. I would face Error a thousand times over for this feeling, knowing that all my friends were finally free.

“We’ll call you back soon once we get moved, lots of work to do!” Blue said.

“Please do, I want to hear all about it,” I said.

“Heh, didn’t get a chance to ask how you’ve been,” Stretch said, taking the phone as Blue zoomed off, “it’s been a while, how are things in your world?”

I laughed.

“What’s the joke?”

“Let’s just say a bitty’s work is never done.”

Promising to explain the whole story later, I hung up the phone and laid back in my bed, with a deep, relieved sigh. A sneaky smile crept over my face and, with a brief thought of concentration, I shrunk myself down to my bitty size. I made my way over to the bay window of my bedroom, where the sun shined through on a mini, private beach I had previously set up on the window seat. I had filled a dish tub with sand, warm water, and a fake palm tree. I even had one of the tiny books from the doll house that Ink had left me.

Laying out on a hand towel, I put my feet in the water, and asked my phone to play ocean sounds. I pulled out my book and soaked in the warm sun.

I had a vacation to get back to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THE END
> 
> This allowed me to wrap up the loose end from 'Bitty in a Universe of Skeletons' and get Blue and Stretch back to the surface. Now all is right in the multiverse.
> 
> Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed my story!

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to do ONE MORE story with Bunny and the skeletons, and the comic 'Eternal Starvation' by mallanmissan really inspired me. Hope you enjoy!


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